CESSNA 182T — Fredericksburg, TX

What happened

The private pilot obtained an abbreviated weather briefing and departed on a cross-country flight. While en route, an air traffic controller queried the pilot if he had the current weather information for his destination airport. The pilot acknowledged that he did. The pilot then requested vectors for a VOR DME-A instrument approach, but the controller was unable to give vectors and cleared the pilot direct to the initial approach fix (the VOR). The controller then informed the pilot that he was "constantly" 300-400 feet below his assigned altitude and reissued the local altimeter setting before clearing him for the approach. About a minute later, the pilot canceled his instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan when he was about 3-4 miles north of the VOR. The controller acknowledged the cancellation and approved a frequency change. There were no further communications or transmissions between the pilot and air traffic control.

A review of radar data revealed that the airplane traveled on a southerly heading toward the VOR. An airport employee heard the pilot announce over the UNICOM frequency that he was crossing over the VOR and transitioning from IFR to visual flight rules flight; however, the weather at the airport was reported to be 1.5 miles visibility. A witness saw the airplane flying very slowly toward the airport about 200 feet above the ground when the engine suddenly stopped. The witness lost sight of the airplane but did see a plume of black smoke a few moments later. The airplane impacted terrain about 1 mile east-southeast of the airport in a nose-low attitude, consistent with a stall/spin. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine found no preaccident mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Although a witness reported that the engine stopped, there was no evidence during postaccident examinations corroborating this. It is likely that the pilot, during his transition from instrument to visual flight while still in instrument conditions, did not ensure that the airplane maintained adequate airspeed.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.