Incident Overview
On July 20, 2019, about 2345 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna R182 airplane, registration N3268C, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near King City, California. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Sequence of Events
According to the pilot, approximately 30 minutes into the flight in night conditions, the airplane's avionics began shutting down. Attempts to power them back up resulted in a brief restoration followed by another shutdown. The pilot then observed a discharge indication on the ammeter and notified air traffic control. The controller provided vectors to the nearest airport, and another pilot on the same frequency activated the pilot-operated runway lighting at the airport.
During the approach for landing, the pilot lowered the landing gear lever to the down position and extended the wing flaps. The pilot reported hearing the landing gear extend and flaps deploy, and the airplane felt as though it was in its normal landing configuration. The pilot stated that, in order to maintain visual contact with the runway, he chose not to use the emergency hand pump to verify that the landing gear was down and locked. During the landing roll, the airplane felt “less maneuverable than normal” and came to a complete stop with the right wingtip and elevator contacting the runway.
Damage and Position
The airplane came to rest on the right side of the runway. The nose landing gear was in the down and locked position, but neither of the main landing gear were fully extended. The right horizontal stabilizer and elevator sustained substantial damage.
Examination Findings
Post-accident examination of the landing gear and electrical systems revealed no anomalies. The landing gear extended and retracted normally during testing, and the emergency landing gear extension system operated as designed. The alternator was removed from the airplane and found to be undamaged. It was placed on a test bench and operated continuously until reaching its normal operating temperature, during which it produced electrical power with no noted anomalies.