- Date
- March 24, 1990, 19:30 local (Mar 25, 1990, 03:30 UTC)
- Place
- Sandy Valley, NV
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6181BCessna 182A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report November 23, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900324005279A
- Case key
- 26760
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's poor flight planning and poor inflight decisions resulting in becoming lost and exhausting fuel before landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane collided with power transmission wires after a loss of power. The student pilot indicated that he became lost and attempted to land in a field when the aircraft ran out of fuel. The airplane collided with power lines during the landing attempt. The student pilot stated he 'did not see the power lines' and that the collision with the lines caused the crash.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6181B
- Reported as
- Cessna 182A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34181
- Engine
- Continental O-470-L, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Vernon R. Dietz
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- R1R · Riverside, CA
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 55
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Flight hours
- 200 total · 200 in this make and model · 200 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 28° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAS
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.