Cessna 182 Safety Record

CONTINUED FLIGHT BY THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT, DUE TO SPATIAL DISORIENTATION. INADEQUATE PREFLIGHT PREFLIGHT PLANNING/PREPARATION BY THE PILOT, AND THE WEATHER AND LIGHT CONDITIONS AT EARLY DAWN WERE FACTORS.

IMPROPER INFLIGHT PLANNING AND DECISION BY THE PILOT IN COMMAND WHO CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT INTO IMC CONDITIONS WHILE ATTEMPTING TO FLY THROUGH A MOUNTAIN PASS. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE THE LOW CEILING AND RAIN WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THE MOUNTAINOUS, HILLY TERRAIN IN THE PASS.

FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO FOLLOW THE IFR PROCEDURE AND MAINTAIN THE MINIMUM DESCENT ALTITUDE (MDA) FOR THAT SEGMENT OF THE APPROACH. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: MINIMUM SAFE ALTITUDE WARNING (MSAW) RADAR NOT ENABLED, AND FAILURE OF THE APPROACH CONTROLLER TO PROVIDE A SAFETY ADVISORY.

PILOT'S FAILURE TO TAKE ACTION THAT WOULD PREVENT THE FORMATION OF CARBURETOR ICE. FOLLOWING THE ENGINE MALFUNCTION, THE PILOT DID NOT CONFIGURE THE AIRPLANE SO AS TO REDUCE THE SEVERITY OF THE IMPACT, I.E. EXTEND THE FLAPS AND SLOW THE AIRPLANE. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE LACK OF A REQUIREMENT BY THE FAA FOR THE AUTOGAS STC HOLDER TO PUBLISH CARBURETOR ICING PROBABILITY IMFORMATION.

THE PLT'S FAILURE TO DISCONTINUE THE VFR FLIGHT WHEN HE ENCOUNTERED IMC; AND THE PLT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE ALTITUDE TO CLEAR THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.

THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED INTO AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT. THE EXISTENCE OF A MOUNTAIN WAVE ALONG THE AIRCRAFT'S FLIGHT ROUTE, THE FAILURE OF THE CREW TO EVALUATE REPORTED WEATHER CONDITIONS ALONG THE FLIGHT ROUTE, THE CREWS ATTEMPT TO FLY INTO KNOWN ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND THE OVER CONFIDENCE OF THE CREW IN THE AIRCRAFT'S ABILITY WERE FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT.

THE PILOT FAILED TO FOLLOW PUBLISHED MISSED APPROACH PROCEDURES. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE PILOT LACK OF RECENT EXPERIENCE IN TYPE OF OPERATION, INSTRUMENT GO-AROUND PROCEDURES, AND THE CLOUD COVERED MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.

THE PILOT'S POOR JUDGEMENT/DECISION-MAKING, AND HIS OVER CONFIDENCE IN HIS OWN ABILITY WHICH LED TO HIS REPEATED DECISIONS TO OPERATE HIS AIRCRAFT IN ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS. THE FACT THAT THE PILOT HAD OPERATED THE AIRCRAFT IN ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS WITHOUT INCIDENT ON NUMEROUS PREVIOUS OCCASIONS CONTRIBUTED TO HIS OVER CONFIDENCE/ EXPECTANCY ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT.

PILOTS SELECTION OF AN INAPPROPRIATE CRUISE ALTITUDE WHICH DID NOT ENSURE ADEQUTE TERRAIN CLEARANCE ON THE LEG OF THE FLIGHT FROM PAGE TO GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT'S FLIGHT SCHEDULE ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT WHICH MAY HAVE PRODUCED A FATIGUE CONDITON.

THE RECENTLY CERTIFICATED, NON-INSTRUMENT RATED, PVT PLT FLEW INTO THE AN AREA OF LOW CEILINGS, LOW VIS, RAIN & SNW W/O FILING A FLT PLAN. NO RECORD OF A WX BRIEFING WAS FND. A SURVIVING PAX RPRTD THAT DRG FLT, THE PLT FLEW INTO CLDS THAT WERE INITIALLY SCATTERED, BUT AS THE FLT CONTD, THE CLDS BCM THICKER & DARKER. THE PAX SAID THEY FLEW INTO 'ICE CLOUDS.'ICE ACCUMULATED ON THE ACFT & THE ENG BGN TO FALTER. RPRTDLY, CARB HEAT WAS APPLIED TOO LATE TO PREVENT ENG STOPPAGE. A DISTRESS CALL WA MADE AT 1501 PST. SOON THEREAFTER, THE PLT TRANSMITTED THEY WERE 'GOING DOWN' & THEN RADAR & RADIO CTC WERE LOST. THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES ON MTN TERRAIN & CRASHED. THE EMERG LOCATOR BCN (ELT) DID NOT OPER. THE ACFTWAS NOT FND UNTIL 1012 PST THE NEXT DAY APRX 1 MI FM WHERE RADAR CTCT WAS LOST. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT SNW & ICE HAD ACCUMULATED IN THE ENG AIR FILTER. ICE WAS FND IN THE WIRE SCREEN & PLENUM BHND THE FILTER. CARB HEAT WAS ON. RESIDENTS APRX 5 MI AWAY SAID HVY SNW WAS FALLING. TWO DEFECTIVE TRANSISTORS WERE FND IN THE ELT WHICH WOULD HAVE PREVENTED OPN.