History of Flight
On August 5, 2019, about 1445 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182L, N3469R, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain near Wolf Point, Montana. The private pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
A witness, the owner of the adjacent farm, reported that the pilot had built grain bins for him previously and had been contracted for additional work. The pilot and passenger, an employee of the pilot's company, planned to visit the farm that day. The pilot had discussed landing at the farm and had visited before, but never by air.
The witness stated that the pilot called at 1423, saying he was flying over Wolf Point and would land shortly. The witness, near his grain bins, watched the airplane fly overhead and make a left turn to the west, paralleling the intended landing strip—a dirt road. The airplane then began a left turn to the east to return and land. The witness observed a sharp turn, followed by a descent into terrain. Upon impact, the airplane burst into flames; the witness drove his water truck to extinguish the fire.
Personnel Information
A reconstruction of the pilot's logbooks indicated that he had accrued about 16 hours of flight experience in the previous 3 months.
Aircraft Information
The pilot purchased the airplane in October 2017. On May 30, 2018, at an airframe total time of 3,191.41 hours, major repairs were performed on the wings after the pilot collided with a barn. Additionally, the left elevator and aft bulkhead were replaced. The records noted that the elevator and rudder control cables were adjusted to 30 lbs +/- 10 lbs. The only subsequent maintenance was an annual inspection in June 2019, about 100 flight hours after the repairs. The logbook entry for that inspection did not mention the elevator or rudder. The tachometer was destroyed, so total time at the accident could not be determined.
The Cessna Owner's Manual states that stall characteristics are conventional, with a stall warning horn sounding 5 to 10 mph above the stall in all configurations. At a gross weight of 2,800 lbs with flaps retracted, the stall speed is 64 mph. At bank angles of 30° and 60°, stall speeds increase to 69 mph and 91 mph, respectively. Maximum flap extension speed is 110 mph, and recommended final approach speed is 75 knots.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The accident site was a flat field with hard, dry dirt and short vegetation, about 21 nautical miles north of Wolf Point. The wreckage was distributed over approximately 40 feet, with the nose oriented on a magnetic heading of about 340°. The main wreckage, including all major control surfaces, was about 60 ft south of the road. The fuselage and inboard sections of both wings were consumed by fire.
First identified debris was red lens fragments, consistent with the left wing tip contacting the ground. Further along the debris path, a vegetation disruption matching a wing leading edge contained landing light lens pieces. A crater in the dirt held two propeller blades.
Postaccident Examination
During examination, the engine was rotated via the vacuum pump drive. Internal mechanical continuity was established, and thumb compression was obtained on each cylinder. A borescope inspection found no foreign object damage, no detonation evidence, and no excessive oil consumption. The top spark plugs were removed; their gray electrodes indicated normal operation per the Champion Aviation Check-A-Plug AV-27 Chart.