Cessna 182Q Crash in Houma, Louisiana (N96894)

Accident Overview and Flight History On September 24, 2009, at approximately 0608 central daylight time, a 1979 Cessna 182Q, registration N96894, struck terrain while departing Houma-Terrebonne Airport (HUM) in Houma, Louisiana. The aircraft was operating as a business flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a filed flight plan. The pilot, a 61-year-old commercial pilot for Daybrook Fisheries, Inc., was fatally injured. The flight was conducted under special visual flight rules (VFR) clearance, despite instrument meteorological conditions prevailing at the time. A witness observed the aircraft from taxi through takeoff to an altitude of about 100 feet, noting it appeared to be flying normally. The pilot's final radio communication at 0605:15 stated, “This is going to get thick in about an hour.” Tower personnel were not informed of the accident until 1225, when another pilot spotted the wreckage from the air. No radar data was available for the flight.