CESSNA 182 — Hope, ID

What happened

The private pilot in the left seat, a certificated flight instructor in the right seat, and a pilot-rated passenger in the rear seat departed in the airplane for a personal flight and proceeded in a northeast direction. About 10 minutes after takeoff, an emergency locator transmitter transmission was received from a location about 7 miles northeast of the departure airport. The wreckage was located at an elevation of 5,226 ft mean sea level (msl), just below a saddle in the ridgeline of mountainous terrain. The airplane had impacted numerous tree tops then collided with terrain about 156 ft beyond the initial impact point. A postcrash fire destroyed the airplane cabin. Radar data about the time of the accident depicted a target at 3,600 ft msl and climbing to the northeast; the track was heading directly toward rising mountainous terrain and was consistent with a direct course to the intended destination. The final radar return was near the accident site at 4,900 ft msl. An overcast cloud layer was present and was estimated to be around 5,000 ft msl. Based on the elevation of the wreckage at 5,226 feet msl, the pilot likely did not select an altitude sufficient to clear the terrain; the airplane most likely was flying along the base of the overcast layer or had ascended into the overcast layer immediately before its impact with terrain. The pilots did not obtain a weather briefing from a Flight Service Station the day of the accident, and it is unknown if the pilots had checked the weather for the flight using other means before their departure. The investigation was unable to determine who was flying the airplane at the time of the collision with terrain.

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