History of Flight
On March 6, 2023, about 1815 Pacific standard time, a Cessna T182T, N24289, was destroyed during an accident near Queets, Washington. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight.
On March 7, 2023, about 0542, family members reported the missing pilot and airplane to local law enforcement. Officers located the pilot’s vehicle and cell phone near his hangar at Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW), Tacoma, Washington. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert notice (ALNOT) for the missing airplane.
Preliminary ADS-B data indicated the airplane departed TIW about 1735. It initially tracked south then west. The last ADS-B target was about 10 miles west of TIW at 4,700 ft mean sea level. Primary radar data from the Washington State Department of Transportation Search and Rescue team and the U.S. Air Force showed a target continuing westbound for 24 miles, then northwesterly for another 43 miles. The last radar return was at 1815 about 10 miles east of Queets.
The ALNOT was canceled on March 19, 2023, as the airplane had not been located. However, on April 10, 2023, WSDOT SAR personnel located the wreckage about 1 mile north of the last radar target.
Pilot Information
A receipt from a grocery store found in the pilot’s car indicated a 750 ml bottle of bourbon was purchased about 6 hours before the accident flight. The pilot’s girlfriend and daughter reported that he had been drinking alcohol the night before and appeared intoxicated the next morning. They stated he had been experiencing stress and had been drinking more recently.
Meteorological Information
At 1753, the recorded weather at Quillayute Airport (UIL), about 35 miles north-northwest of the accident location, included wind from 140° at 8 knots gusting to 19 knots, visibility 9 miles, light rain, broken clouds at 1,900 ft agl, overcast clouds at 2,300 ft agl, temperature 4° C, dew point 3° C, and altimeter 29.91 inHg.
The HRRR model indicated the freezing level at 1,581 ft and moderate clear type icing between 2,500 ft and 5,000 ft, with layers of moderate mixed ice and light rime ice from 5,000 to 11,000 ft. The NWS weather surveillance radar, about 24 miles south, measured reflectivity of 36 dBZ at 1851, indicating moderate intensity echoes near the accident site. A Graphic-AIRMET issued at 1700 advised of southeasterly winds 5–15 knots, 60–70% chance of rain and snow, overcast bases at 2,000 ft msl with tops to 24,000 ft, and moderate icing between the freezing level and 12,000 ft. Pilot reports indicated icing conditions between 4,000 and 10,000 ft within 120 miles, with intensities ranging from light mixed to light rime.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was at an elevation of 507 ft msl in heavily wooded terrain with trees up to 80 ft tall. The first point of impact was a tree topped at about 36 ft, 120 ft south of the main wreckage. Topped trees decreased in height toward the main wreckage, where a 12-inch diameter tree trunk was topped 15 ft from the ground. The debris field included tree limbs, right wing fragments, wingtip, right outboard aileron, red lens material, lower engine cowling, left-wing strut mount, upper cowling, right-wing strut, and right inboard aileron. Left wing, flap, and aileron fragments were east of the main wreckage.
The main wreckage was in a 30-ft-wide tree well. The forward cabin and instrument panel were crushed over the engine, which was embedded in soft ground. The cockpit and fuselage were fragmented and commingled. The empennage came to rest separated from the fuselage just forward of the horizontal stabilizer, with the elevator and vertical stabilizer crushed. The elevator trim tab actuator extension was 1.5 inches, corresponding to about 10 degrees tab up per Textron Aviation documentation. Fuel tanks were fragmented; no fuel smell was detected (the airplane was exposed for over a month). All four corners of the airplane were located.
During recovery, the top of a glass bottle was found, consistent in appearance with the bourbon bottle on the receipt. The lid was missing, and the top foil had a serrated edge consistent with having been twisted and opened.
Postaccident examination of the engine and airframe revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. All cockpit instrumentation, including the transponder, was destroyed and could not be examined.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy of the pilot by the Grays Harbor County Coroner listed the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries due to a small airplane crash; the manner of death was undetermined. Due to injury extent, the autopsy was limited for natural disease examination.
National Medical Services Labs postmortem toxicological testing of spleen blood detected ethanol but no reproducible result. FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory testing detected ethanol in liver (0.089 g/hg), kidney (0.062 g/hg), muscle (0.131 g/hg), and heart (0.123 g/hg) tissues. N-butanol and isopropanol were detected in liver and heart; acetone in liver, heart, and muscle.