Cessna TR182 accident near Desert Aire, WA
On November 6, 1998, a Cessna TR182 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Desert Aire, WA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- November 6, 1998
- Place
- Desert Aire, WA
- Aircraft
- Cessna TR182 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 46.720°N, 119.730°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X11503
NTSB summary
On November 6, 1998, approximately 1225 Pacific standard time, a Cessna TR182, N756YE, operated by Kennewick Aircraft Services Inc. of Kennewick, Washington, under contract to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as a public-use waterfowl survey flight, struck power lines across the Columbia River near Desert Aire, Washington, and subsequently crashed and sank into the river. The airplane was substantially damaged in the wire strike and subsequent water impact. After the airplane sank to the river bottom (approximately 15 feet deep), the commercial pilot-in-command of the aircraft was able to escape the aircraft and was rescued by a boat on the river, but sustained serious injuries in the accident. Two U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service employees aboard the aircraft, who were acting as observers for the waterfowl survey, did not escape the submerged aircraft and were fatally injured. The flight departed Vista Field, Kennewick, Washington, and was to have been a local flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. The operator possessed an FAA waiver from the minimum altitude requirements of 14 CFR 91.119(c). This waiver authorized the pilot to operate at altitudes below 500 feet above ground level (AGL) on aerial survey flights, provided aircraft were not operated closer than 500 feet to persons on the surface. The pilot reported that the accident occurred after approximately 4 hours of low-level survey flight, while the airplane was flying downriver (eastbound in the accident area). Sky conditions r
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude and/or clearance over a power line crossing the river, resulting in collision with a static wire at the top of the crossing structure. Factors included the static wire, and inadequate marking of the static wire.
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Browse: Washington · 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.
