History of Flight
On November 6, 2011, at 1853 mountain standard time, a Cessna 182Q, registration N4701N, collided with hilly terrain near Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The private pilot and two passengers received fatal injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight was a personal cross-country trip that had departed Glendale Municipal Airport, Glendale, Arizona, around 1810, with a planned destination of Lake Havasu City Airport. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at departure, and no flight plan was filed.
The flight was the return leg of a family trip to watch a football game in the Glendale area. The group had flown into Glendale earlier that day, arriving at 1115. The game started about 1415, extended into overtime, and ended around 1730. According to a friend seated next to the pilot during the game, the pilot expressed concern about encroaching weather and the game extending into darkness. The pilot and passengers left the stadium immediately after the game.
Radar and voice data from the FAA showed that the pilot contacted Luke Air Force Base air traffic control about 5 minutes after departure. The controller provided a transponder code of 0230, then updated it to 2607. Radar showed a target 10 miles north of Luke reporting code 2607, climbing from 4,500 to 6,900 feet mean sea level over 12 minutes. The pilot requested a cruise altitude of 6,500 feet; the controller advised that for radar services from Albuquerque, he would need to fly at or above 8,500 feet. The pilot chose to remain on Luke frequency. About 90 seconds later, at 35 miles northwest of Luke, the controller terminated radar services and instructed the pilot to squawk VFR (1200). The target continued northwest for 12 minutes, descending to 6,300 feet, with the last target 50 miles northwest of Luke.
GPS data from the airplane's receiver matched the radar track and showed the flight continued on the same heading for another 30 miles at about 6,000 feet GPS altitude and 140 knots ground speed. Then the airplane began a 10-degree left turn, followed by a right turn, descending to 5,000 feet near Alamo Lake. Over the next two minutes, it descended to 4,650 feet, performed a 70-degree left turn and a 90-degree right turn, with altitude and airspeed oscillations between 4,500 and 4,800 feet and 97 to 126 knots. In the final 24 seconds, the airplane turned 180 degrees left while descending from 4,714 to 3,153 feet. The first point of impact was about 1,000 feet southeast and 800 feet below the last GPS position. The final recorded airspeed was 177 knots.
The entire route beyond Glendale was over minimally lit, uninhabited desert. An alert notice was issued on November 9 at 0930 after the pilot failed to report for work; the Civil Air Patrol and Mohave County Sheriff's Department located the airplane at 1600 that day.
Personnel Information
The 53-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with single-engine land rating, but no instrument rating. His logbook showed about 333 total hours since November 2006, including 246 hours in the accident airplane make and model, 11 hours in the previous 90 days, 4.2 hours of simulated instrument time, no actual instrument time, and 11.7 hours of night flying. He had flown the route 11 times since September 2010; four of those flights, including one 14 days prior, occurred after the end of civil twilight, all with clear skies and visibility of 10 miles or more at area airports. The pilot held a third-class medical certificate dated August 31, 2011, with a limitation requiring glasses for near vision.
Aircraft Information
The high-wing, single-engine, fixed-gear airplane (serial number 18267292) was manufactured in 1979. Total airframe time at the last annual inspection on June 22, 2011, was 10,713.7 hours. The engine was a Teledyne Continental Motors O-470-U, serial number 469810, with 1,049.8 hours since overhaul in October 2000. The factory-installed 300A NAVOMATIC autopilot was removed in 1997; no autopilot was found in the wreckage or maintenance records.
Meteorological Information
Kingman Airport (KIGM), 55 miles north-northwest of the accident site, reported at 1909: wind 200° at 3 knots, visibility 9 miles in light rain, broken ceiling at 2,300 feet agl, overcast at 3,200 feet, temperature 6°C, dew point 4°C, altimeter 29.95 inHg. Blythe Airport (KBLH), 66 miles southwest, reported at 1852: wind 320° at 3 knots, visibility 10 miles, overcast at 7,000 feet, temperature 16°C, dew point 8°C, altimeter 29.92 inHg. Several pilot reports indicated light to moderate rime icing between 9,000 and 14,000 feet over Kingman and Prescott, with broken to overcast cloud cover over western Arizona. Sunset at Kingman began at 1737, end of civil twilight at 1804. At accident time, the sun was 15° below the horizon, the moon 36° above at azimuth 105°, 93% illuminated.
The pilot received a preflight weather briefing at 0805 from the Prescott Automated Flight Service Station. He requested a VFR briefing for the outbound leg and an outlook for the return. He estimated departure at 1000, en route time 1 hour, cruising at 7,500 feet. He expressed concern about the return due to other sources indicating an imminent storm. The briefer relayed AIRMET Tango for moderate turbulence and AIRMET Zulu for moderate rime icing between 5,000 and 12,000 feet over western Arizona. The briefer noted a frontal system moving east with deteriorating conditions, and provided the Needles forecast (KEED) for 1800: scattered at 5,000 feet, broken at 8,000 feet, 30% chance of light rain showers. The pilot acknowledged the weather and indicated they would decide shortly. The pilot did not contact AFSS again before departure.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was found in the Rawhide Mountain Wilderness at 2,400 feet elevation on a southwest-facing 30-degree slope, about 9 miles northwest of Alamo Lake. The first impact point was a 6-foot-wide crater containing the engine, propeller, and instrument panel sections. Both wings and stabilizers were above the engine with accordion crush damage. Ground disruptions and lens fragments were noted. The debris field spanned about 360 feet on a bearing of 145° magnetic, with the forward cabin area (including firewall, landing gear, footwell remnants) sustaining thermal damage from a postaccident fire. All major sections were accounted for. The airplane appeared to have impacted in an inverted attitude, with the debris field opposite the direction of travel.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy by the Mohave County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death as blunt force injuries. Toxicological tests on the pilot were negative for all screened drugs and alcohol.
Tests and Research
Examination of the airframe and engine by the NTSB and representatives from Cessna and Continental Motors found no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Control cables showed impact-related fragmentation. The elevator trim jack screw indicated a zero-degree trim setting. The engine exhibited impact damage, but spark plugs and combustion chambers showed normal operation. The propeller blades had chordwise scratches, leading edge nicks, and blade twist. No mechanical issues were identified.
Additional Information
Fueling records showed the airplane received 30 gallons of 100-octane low-lead aviation fuel on the morning of the accident. FAA Advisory Circular 60-4A discusses spatial disorientation risks when visual references are limited, emphasizing the importance of flight instruments for attitude control.