- Date
- December 11, 2014, 20:30 local (Dec 12, 2014, 03:30 UTC)
- Place
- Wendover, UT
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N961GWCessna 182T
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report April 7, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20141211021009A
- Case key
- 90494
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 failure to maintain situational awareness during a turn which resulted in a loss of airplane control.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
After accomplishing a touch and go landing, during a moonless night, the pilot initiated a left climbing turn and orientated himself with the departure end of the runway, by looking outside and behind the airplane. While looking outside, the pilot inadvertently put the airplane into a left steep bank and was unable to recover. Prior to the airplane impacting terrain, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings, the pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
After accomplishing a touch and go landing, during a moonless night, the pilot initiated a left climbing turn and orientated himself with the departure end of the runway, by looking outside and behind the airplane. While looking outside, the pilot inadvertently put the airplane into a left steep bank and was unable to recover. Prior to the airplane impacting terrain, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings, the pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N961GW
- Reported as
- Cessna 182T (T)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18280961
- Built
- 2002
- Airframe hours
- 2,702.3
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540 SER, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 21, 2014
- Departed
- OGD · Ogden, UT
- Destination
- ENV · Wendover, UT
- Airport
- ENV · Wendover, runway 26, 10,000 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Auto-pilot
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
- 51
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 13, 2014
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 210 total · 16 in this make and model · 128 as pilot in command · 74 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.88 inHg
- Observed at
- ENV, 2 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 2, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.9 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.