History of Flight
On January 17, 2010, about 1622 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 182R, registration N702, collided with mountainous terrain 9 miles northwest of Corvallis, Oregon. The Department of Interior, US Fish and Wildlife Service, operated the airplane as a public-use positioning flight. The commercial pilot and passenger were killed; the airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had been filed. The flight originated at Newport Municipal Airport, Newport, Oregon, about 1600.
According to US Fish and Wildlife Service officials, the airplane had completed a wildlife survey in the vicinity of Olympia, Washington. The airplane landed at Newport Municipal Airport, the pilot purchased fuel, and updated their flight plan. The pilot phoned his girlfriend, told her that there was a break in the weather, and that he was having trouble contacting Flight Service. They were going to fly to Corvallis, and if she had not heard from him by 1700, to call the Federal Aviation Administration. The pilot and his passenger departed Newport about 1600 for the Corvallis airport, 38 miles east of Newport, where the airplane was based. Although the pilot had updated his flight plan while in Newport, he never activated the flight plan once airborne.
At 1833, the airplane was reported overdue and search efforts commenced. The terrain between Newport and Corvallis is mountainous with elevations between 1,000 and 1,750 feet mean sea level. A combination of air and ground search and rescue teams located the wreckage around 0830 on January 18th by homing in on the airplane's emergency locator transmitter beacon. The terrain elevation in the vicinity of the wreckage is approximately 1,500 feet mean sea level.
Radar and GPS Data
Radar data collected included uncorrected altitude information based on an atmospheric pressure reference of 29.92 inches of mercury. To convert the altitude data to altitude mean sea level, a conversion of 1 inch of mercury equal to 1,000 feet was used, applied to the local pressure altitude setting at the time of the accident, 29.32 inches of mercury. Using this conversion, the radar altitude information minus 600 feet equated to the mean sea level altitude. Radar data showed the airplane over the Oregon coast northwest of the Newport Municipal Airport at 1605. The track proceeded easterly, roughly following Highway 20, at an altitude of 2,900 feet mean sea level. At 1617, the airplane’s track started a very gradual descent to 2,200 feet mean sea level. At 1620, the track turned to the southeast, continuing the shallow descent to 2,000 feet mean sea level. The last radar return occurred at 1622, 1,800 feet mean sea level, in the vicinity of where the wreckage was located.
A portable GPS (Garmin GPSMap 396) was recovered and sent to the National Transportation Safety Board’s Vehicle Recorder Laboratory for data recovery. GPS recorded altitude is based on a datum plane that for practical purposes approximates mean sea level altitude. The GPS data recovered for the accident flight started at 1557:55, and data was recorded roughly every 10 seconds until 1622:25. The track mirrored the radar track. During the majority of the airplane’s transit to the east, the average altitude was around 2,700 feet mean sea level. At 1617, the airplane began a gradual descent while heading in a southeastern direction. At 1620, the GPS unit recorded an altitude of 2,435 feet mean sea level. During the final minute of the GPS data, the altitude descended from 2,166 feet above ground level to 1,693 feet above ground level, and the average ground speed was 119 knots.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 52, held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land and sea, airplane land, and instrument airplane, issued April 26, 1995. He held a second-class medical certificate issued on September 1, 2009, with the restriction that he wear corrective lenses. The pilot’s logbook was not recovered. The pilot reported on his last FAA medical application that he had accumulated 4,463 hours of flight time. Records from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, dated February 2, 2009, showed the pilot reported 4,294 flight hours; 4,165 hours of single engine time; 14 hours multi-engine time; 62 hours of actual instrument time; 85 hours simulated instrument time; 148 hours of night time; and had accumulated 354.2 hours over the previous 12 months. His most recent Interagency Pilot Evaluation/Qualification Check was performed on March 9, 2009, in a Cessna 182. No unsatisfactory areas or skill deficiencies were noted. The pilot was issued a qualification card for "Recon, low level VFR C-182."
The pilot’s girlfriend of 7 years stated that his sleep patterns had been normal in recent days, that he did not take any medication or over-the-counter drugs, and that he had not complained of any physical ailments. On Tuesday, January 12, the pilot had a day off work. On January 14-15 he flew in the vicinity of Finley Wildlife Refuge and stayed overnight in McMinnville. On January 16, the weather was not conducive for flying; he stayed home and went to bed around 2130. On January 17, he woke up around 0730, monitored the weather, decided to fly, and was out of the house at 1030.
Aircraft Information
The four-seat, high wing, fixed-gear airplane, serial number 182-68528, was manufactured in 1985. It was powered by a Teledyne Continental Motors IO-470-F(26) 260-HP engine and equipped with a two-blade McCauley constant speed propeller. The airplane was not equipped with anti-ice or deicing equipment.
Examination of the airplane's logbook revealed that the most recent annual inspection was performed on April 20, 2009; aircraft total time was 4,869.7 hours. On September 21, 2009, a 100-hour inspection was performed at an aircraft total time of 4,966.5 hours; engine tach time was 2,604.2 hours.
The engine tach read 2,656.4 hours when examined at the accident scene. The engine had been installed new on the airplane on September 13, 2004. The most recent 100-hour inspection was performed on September 21, 2009, at an engine total time of 854.2 hours. Weight and balance data, dated April 20, 2009, showed an aircraft weight of 1,792.44 pounds and a useful load of 1,307.56 pounds. A fuel receipt from the Newport Municipal Airport FBO showed the accident airplane took on 26 gallons of Avgas at 1534 on January 17. The pilot reported in his flight plan that he had 3 hours of fuel onboard.
Meteorological Information
The NWS Surface Analysis Chart for 1600 PST depicted a surface low pressure center off the Oregon coast with a sea level pressure of 972 hectopascals and an occluded front stretching southeastward toward the northern California coast, with a warm front extending into northern California. Station models depicted calm to southeasterly winds; light to moderate rain in the vicinity of the accident site, with overcast skies over most of the region. A regional weather radar mosaic of the northwestern US, valid at 1622 PST, identified "very light" to "light to moderate" precipitation intensities across some of the region, with stronger intensities near Portland, Oregon.
Corvallis Municipal Airport, located about 9 miles southeast of the accident site at an elevation of 250 feet, was equipped with a non-federal Automated Weather Observing Station that reported every 20 minutes. At 1555, Corvallis reported winds calm; visibility 5 miles; few clouds at 700 feet above ground level, with ceiling broken at 4,400 feet and overcast at 5,000 feet; temperature 11 degrees Celsius; dew point 8 degrees Celsius; altimeter setting 29.33 inches of mercury. At 1615, Corvallis reported wind from 010 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 5 miles; few clouds at 700 feet above ground level with ceilings broken at 4,400 feet and overcast at 5,000 feet; temperature 11 degrees Celsius; dew point 8 degrees Celsius; altimeter setting 29.32 inches of mercury. At 1635, Corvallis reported wind from 020 degrees at 10 knots; visibility 5 miles; few clouds at 3,700 feet with scattered clouds at 4,300 feet and ceiling overcast at 5,000 feet; temperature 11 degrees Celsius; dew point 8 degrees Celsius; altimeter setting 29.31 inches of mercury.
A rawinsonde launch at 1600 from Salem, Oregon, approximately 28 miles northeast of the accident site, identified a near-saturated layer between the surface and about 1,150 feet above ground level, where relative humidity did not drop below 96%. The lifting condensation level was 249 feet above ground level. A temperature inversion existed between 1,150 and 1,550 feet above ground level, with less saturated conditions and relative humidity dropping to 83%. Above 4,000-5,000 feet above ground level, the atmosphere became saturated through about 10,000 feet. The freezing level was about 5,000 feet. The rawinsonde data identified a critical layer of wind shear between 1,200 and 2,000 feet mean sea level, where the wind increased from 10 knots at 135 degrees to 26 knots at 160 degrees. Above 2,000 feet, the wind continued to veer and increase with height, reaching a peak of 58 knots at 210 degrees at 8,200 feet mean sea level.
Calculations by the Universal Rawinsonde Observation program indicated a region of severe clear air turbulence between 1,200 and 2,000 feet. RAOB also indicated a modest convective available potential energy amount of 192 J/kg. Although a very shallow unstable layer existed from the surface to approximately 450 feet, conditions above 450 feet remained stable to the top of the temperature inversion at 1,700 feet, with a conditionally unstable environment above the inversion to 5,000 feet. Given the terrain parameters, RAOB determined there was no significant mountain wave action at altitudes below 9,000 feet.
The closest WSR-88D weather radar was from Portland, Oregon, approximately 72 miles north. The 0.5-degree base reflectivity image scan for time 1624 was overlaid on a satellite image. The field-of-view from the 0.5-degree scan ranged from approximately 5,353 feet to 8,980 feet mean sea level and did not capture the altitudes for the final portion of the accident flight. The base reflectivity data indicated the accident aircraft was below an area of 20-25 dBZ reflectivity, but did not indicate whether the aircraft was encountering precipitation at its flight altitudes.
Based on witness statements of hearing thunder near the time of the accident, a report of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes was obtained from the National Lightning Detection Network. Results indicated that within a 15-statute-mile distance from the accident site between 1500 and 1645, no cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were detected.
Approximately 90 minutes before the accident, the pilot of a general aviation airplane made a successful approach and landing at Corvallis Municipal Airport. The latter portion of that flight was documented with a low-definition camera and GPS. The pilot estimated visibility near the Corvallis airport to be 2.5 miles, with visibilities "definitely worse toward the coastal range," and indicated the coastal range and foothills were "totally obscured in mist and low cloud." The pilot could not identify the base of the overcast layer but estimated the scattered layer beneath had bases of 650 feet with tops near 800 feet. Light mist and drizzle were in the area, and rain was encountered soon after landing.
The National Weather Service does not issue Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts for Corvallis. The closest TAF from Salem, Oregon, at 1544 forecasted between 1600 and 1900: wind from 060 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 5 miles in light rain and mist; scattered clouds at 3,500 feet above ground level, and ceilings overcast at 5,000 feet. An Area Forecast for the Willamette Valley, issued at 1245, forecasted overcast ceilings between 4,000-5,000 feet above ground level, with layered clouds up to flight level 240, with occasional light rain until 1600. Beginning at 1600, broken ceilings were forecasted between 2,000-3,000 feet with an overcast layer at 7,000 feet, visibility occasionally 3 to 5 miles in light rain and mist. An AIRMET Sierra for mountain obscuration was in effect for the accident flight.
At approximately 1552, the pilot of N702 contacted Prescott Automated Flight Service Station to file a VFR flight plan from Newport to Corvallis. When asked by flight services if he already knew about all the AIRMETs, the pilot replied, "I do."
Wreckage and Impact
The terrain surrounding the accident location consisted of mountain foothills with the highest peak approximately 1,750 feet mean sea level. The terrain was heavily wooded with Douglas Fir and Grand Fir trees, typically 12 to 16 inches in diameter and 110 feet tall. The main debris field was approximately 370 feet long, on a 062-degree magnetic heading, and between 200 and 300 feet below the terrain peak (elevation 1,750 feet mean sea level). The debris field was on a 25-degree terrain slope. The nearby hilltop had a cell phone tower.
The debris field started with the left wing tip, and sections of left wing and left aileron followed uphill to the main wreckage. The main wreckage was centered around the cockpit. The engine was located 70 feet to the southeast; the entire right wing was downhill about 90 feet, and above the right wing the entire tail/empennage was wrapped around a fir tree 65 feet up. Two trees had been topped at about the same elevation between the tail and where the cockpit laid. The cockpit had been separated from the rear part of the cabin just behind the front seats; additionally, it had been separated from the cabin overhead. Flight control cables were traced from the tail and ailerons to the cockpit through multiple cable overload breaks. All control surface bell cranks had control cable ends attached. The flap actuator extension measurement was 0.2 inches, corresponding to the flaps in the fully retracted position. The engine had been separated from the firewall, but the fuel strainer and throttle body/fuel control remained connected to the firewall.
The engine exhibited impact damage with wood fragments embedded into the cooling fins of the number 5 cylinder. The oil pan had been breached but approximately 2 quarts of oil were drained from the engine. The engine was rotated using the accessory drive, and thumb compression was achieved on all cylinders in sequence. The fuel pump was removed; the drive coupling was intact, and the pump rotated by hand with no binding. The left magneto was found separated from its mounting pad; it was rotated by hand and spark was produced on all posts. Fluid in the fuel distribution valve tested negative for water. Wood and tree limb organic matter were observed in the induction system. The propeller was located next to the engine embedded into the base of a tree. Leading edge polishing was observed on both blades.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed on the pilot on January 19, 2010, by the Benton County Medical Examiner listed injuries including "blunt force head trauma." Forensic toxicology performed by the FAA Forensic Toxicology Research Team detected no carbon monoxide or cyanide in blood; no ethanol in vitreous; and none of the listed drugs were detected in blood.
Organizational and Management Information
According to the Department of Interior investigative report, it is not clear why the pilot decided to undertake the flight/mission during a 3-day weekend; Monday, January 18, was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a Federal holiday. Within the Migratory Bird Program of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, flight scheduling and management decisions are made at the local unit/individual pilot level. The program does not employ any policy guidance to aid the pilot in making risk-managed decisions with respect to flight scheduling decision making.