Cessna 182H N8338S accident near Las Cruces, New Mexico

Probable cause

Controlled flight into terrain in dark night conditions.

NTSB analysis

The flight instructor and student pilot were returning to their home airport in dark night visual meteorological conditions. Radar captured the airplane's progress as it flew toward the airport. The airplane maneuvered north of the airport, descended to about 200 ft above ground level (agl), turned left toward the airport, climbed to about 500 ft agl, and overflew the airport before turning north. Shortly thereafter, the airplane entered a descending right turn and subsequently impacted terrain in a left-wing-low attitude. The airplane was mostly consumed by a postimpact fire.

The airplane's altimeter at the accident site indicated an altitude about 3,650 ft higher than the accident site elevation; however, impact and fire damage precluded functional testing of the altimeter and the reason for the discrepancy could not be determined. No other anomalies were detected with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

The area north of the airport and in the vicinity of the accident site was unpopulated with no cultural lighting. Due to the lack of ground lighting and the dark night conditions, the pilots would have had few visual references by which to perceive their altitude and proximity to terrain. Although such conditions are conducive to the development of spatial disorientation; the airplane's radar track and impact attitude are consistent with a controlled flight into terrain event rather than a loss of control due to spatial disorientation. The reason for the pilots' maneuvering at low altitude could not be determined based on the available information.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN18FA009 for the full record.