CESSNA T182T — Queets, WA

What happened

The pilot and airplane were reported missing by family members. A multi-agency search was conducted; radar data believed to represent the missing airplane showed a westerly track to 10 miles east of Queets, Washington. The airplane wreckage was found 5 weeks later in an area of dense trees one mile north of the last radar target.

Shortly after departure, evidence suggests the pilot turned off the airplane’s transponder. The airplane likely encountered instrument meteorological conditions and icing along the route of flight. Although evidence suggests the pilot had been drinking alcohol shortly before the accident, the pattern of the pilot's ethanol results indicates that some or all the detected ethanol likely was from sources other than alcohol consumption. This conclusion is consistent with the severity of the pilot’s injuries, the delayed recovery of his remains, and the presence of other volatiles (n-butanol, isopropanol, and acetone) in some of the tested specimens. However, the results do not exclude the possibility that the pilot may have consumed ethanol and may have been impaired by ethanol effects at the time of the crash. Thus, whether ethanol effects contributed to the crash could not be determined.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

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