WPR20LA028

The airplane departed on a visual flight rules (VFR) local flight and did not return as planned. Local authorities discovered the pilot’s body five days later, near the shore of a lake about 28 nautical miles northeast of the departure airport. There were no witnesses to the accident, and the wreckage was not recovered. There was no radar information that could be definitively correlated with the accident airplane. Review of weather information for the day of the accident was consistent with VFR conditions in the area of the accident site, and model sounding data suggested no low clouds or restrictions to visibility. Autopsy and toxicology of the pilot did not reveal evidence of physiological impairment or incapacitation. The circumstances of the accident could not be determined based on the available information.

On November 11, 2019, at 1126 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 182, N8749T, was reported overdue/missing near Metaline Falls, Washington. The pilot was fatally injured; the wreckage has not been located. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alert notice (ALNOT) information, the airplane departed on a visual flight rules (VFR) local flight from Colville Municipal Airport (63S), Colville, Washington. The ALNOT was issued at 1905 on November 11 when the pilot did not return as planned. Local authorities discovered the pilot’s body on the morning of November 16, 2019, near the shore of Sullivan Lake, about 28 nautical miles northeast of 63S. There were no witnesses to the accident, and the wreckage was not recovered. There was no radar information that could be definitively correlated with the accident airplane. Review of weather information for the day of the accident was consistent with VFR conditions in the area of the accident site, and model sounding data suggested no low clouds or restrictions to visibility. An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the Spokane County, Washington, Office of the Medical Examiner. The cause of death was attributed to presumed hypothermia and drowning. Toxicology testing of specimens from the pilot at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory was negative for carbon monoxide and ethanol. Glucose was detected in vitreous and urine, and rosuvastatin was detected in blood and urine.