Cessna TR182 — St. Simons Island, GA

What happened

The cross-country flight proceeded uneventfully in good weather conditions until the airplane was about 5 miles from the destination airport. The airplane had descended gradually from an en route altitude of 4,000 to 1,700 ft mean sea level (msl) over a period of about 4 minutes. However, between 1,700 ft and the second-to-last radar target at 1,300 ft msl, and between that radar target and the final target at 900 ft msl, the airplane descended 400 ft in about 4 seconds between the targets. The airplane subsequently impacted terrain in a wooded area. The tree scars and the lack of a debris path at the accident site were consistent with a near-vertical descent. Examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation.

The 80-year-old pilot had high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which would not be considered impairing. Some plaques were found on the pilot's thoracic aorta during his autopsy, but, due to the pilot's extensive injuries, his heart was not available for examination to determine if he had any coronary artery disease. Thus, the investigation of this accident could not determine if the pilot's medical conditions contributed to the accident. Ethanol was detected in the pilot's muscle tissue. Given the lack of ethanol in the pilot's lung tissue and the presence of n-propanol in his muscle tissue, it is likely that some or all of the identified ethanol was from sources other than ingestion. Thus, the identified ethanol did not contribute to this accident.

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