What happened
On August 7, 2025, a Cessna T182T, registration N35370, was involved in an accident near Augusta, Arkansas. The flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 for personal use.
Data recovered from an onboard Appareo Stratus 2S GPS/ADS-B receiver indicates the aircraft departed from North Little Rock Municipal Airport (ORK) at 0944 central daylight time. After traveling northeast for approximately 65 nautical miles, the aircraft began a left turn to reverse course toward Woodruff County Airport (M60). Approximately 2 nautical miles north of M60, the aircraft performed a right turn toward the northwest, followed by a left turn toward the west. The final recorded track point was located roughly 180 feet east of the aircraft's final position.
The aircraft came to rest inverted in an unharvested corn field. The wreckage path spanned approximately 70 feet. The impact resulted in 1 fatality and 1 minor injury.
The investigation
The aircraft was found predominately intact with all major flight and control surfaces attached. The nose landing gear was bent aft, and the nose wheel fork and wheel had separated from the strut. The engine and firewall were pushed aft.
Examination of the flight control systems showed the aileron, elevator, and rudder systems were continuous from the cockpit to the control surfaces with no cable breaks, though cables in the aft fuselage were slack due to fuselage buckling. The flaps were found in the retracted position.
The engine, a Continental IO-550-N41B, remained attached to the firewall. Upon inspection, the engine rotated freely, and the top spark plugs showed normal burn signatures. The engine exhibited suction and compression on all six cylinders. Testing confirmed the movement of the rocker arm and valve, spark production on all ignition leads, and functional movement of the throttle, mixture, and propeller controls.