Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 182 near Big Piney, WY — 2015-08-16

Final reportCEN15LA403
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Date
2015-08-16
Location
Big Piney, WY, USA
Aircraft
CESSNA 182
Registration
XBYUH
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude while operating over high mountainous terrain, which resulted in an emergency landing after the airplane's encounter with a downdraft.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that, during a preflight briefing, he and the pilot-rated passenger (who was the owner of the airplane) agreed that in the case of an emergency, the owner would take control of the airplane. After takeoff, the sightseeing flight was normal until the airplane approached a glacier at 12,000 ft mean sea level. The pilot stated that because the airplane engine was normally aspirated, there was not much power left to climb, but everything was "ok." As the airplane entered the glacier area through a canyon, it encountered a sudden downdraft and started to descend; the pilot recalled that the airplane's altitude above terrain was about 500 ft. The pilot tried to maintain a level attitude, but the airspeed began to decrease as the airplane continued to descend. The pilot-rated passenger then took control of the airplane and immediately lowered the nose to increase airspeed and set up for an emergency landing; the airplane appeared to be stalling. The airplane landed hard on ice ditches, separating the nose gear. The main landing gear dug in and the airplane came to a stop, which resulted in structural damage to the fuselage. No mechanical malfunctions or failures were reported by the pilot. Because the engine was normally aspirated, the performance of the engine was reduced at a high altitude. Further, the airplane was about 500 ft above terrain when the downdraft occurred. Considering that downdrafts in high mountainous terrain can exceed 1,000 ft per minute, the pilot did not maintain adequate altitude for the operating environment.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have avoided entering the canyon with known downdrafts.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 3 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents3

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