Cessna 182Q accident near Nixon, NV
On October 29, 1998, a Cessna 182Q (airplane) was involved in an accident near Nixon, NV. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 29, 1998
- Place
- Nixon, NV
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182Q · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 39.890°N, 119.281°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X11281
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On October 29, 1998, at 0745 hours Pacific standard time, a Cessna 182Q, N95726, was destroyed when the aircraft impacted mountainous terrain 5 miles southwest of Nixon, Nevada. The private pilot and two passengers sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that was operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight departed from Grass Valley, California, at 0700 en route to Winnemucca, Nevada. A VFR flight plan was filed but was not activated after takeoff. The aircraft was reported missing when it failed to arrive at the destination and the wreckage was located on November 1, 1998. Recorded radar data obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center shows an aircraft maneuvering at approximately 14,500 feet in the proximity of Pyramid Lake between 0738 and 0745 hours, and which disappears from radar near the accident site. The data, which is shown on attachment 1 to the meteorologist's factual report (attached), shows the aircraft approximately 2 miles northeast of Nixon at 0738, southwest-bound. Near the accident site, the aircraft had descended to near 13,000 feet when it entered a left turn and descended until radar contact was lost near the accident site at 0745. According to the pilot's son, the purpose of the trip was to attend a funeral service in Montana for the pilot's father. The flight was to land in Winnemucca, Nevada to pickup the pilot's second son and continue on to Montana. The airport caretaker at Grass Valley told the pilot's son that a
Probable cause
The noninstrument rated pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during an attempted flight into adverse weather which resulted in inadvertent VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Factors in the accident were the pilot's failure to obtain an updated briefing prior to departure, and icing conditions encountered after entering the clouds.
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Browse: Nevada · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
