Cessna 182 N214MT accident near Cassville, Missouri

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane after an inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions resulting in the subsequent impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's self-induced pressure to conduct the flight.

NTSB analysis

Prior to the flight, the non-instrument rated private pilot had three contacts with the pre-flight weather briefer at the automated flight Service Station (AFSS) for a planned visual flight rules (VFR) return flight to his home. According to statements made to a friend, the pilot expected the weather conditions to quickly improve once he got approximately 30 miles from the departure airport. The pilot had told several persons that he intended to make an important business flight in that airplane to another location on the following day. After departure, the airplane encountered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) in an area of rising terrain. A witness near the accident scene saw the airplane come out of the bottom of overcast clouds in a nose down dive. The airplane impacted terrain and was destroyed by a post-impact fire. No pre-crash anomalies were noted with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for DFW08FA204 for the full record.