Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance during cruise flight.
NTSB analysis
The single engine airplane impacted a vertical rock cliff face in mountainous terrain about 500 feet below a mountain ridge line. Global Positioning System (GPS) data was recovered from a portable GPS unit that was located with the airplane wreckage. The GPS data track originated in the vicinity of the departure airport, and proceeded at 8,350 feet mean sea level (msl) northeast for 57 miles, and abruptly ends in the vicinity of the accident site. During the last 2 minutes of the flight, the track increased in altitude from 8,350 feet to 8,891 feet msl. The height of the mountain ridge line directly ahead of the airplanes' flight path was between 9,100 feet and 9,580 feet msl. The end of the GPS track did not exhibit any deviations that could be interpreted as an evasive maneuver. The cloud coverage in the vicinity of the accident location was between scattered and broken, with bases between 8,000 and 9,000 feet msl, cloud tops were about 15,000 feet msl, with visibility greater than 3 miles in cloud-free areas.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR09FA282 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Jun 3, 2009
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Atlanta, Idaho
- Nearest airport
- Boise Air Terminal (Gowen Fld) (KBOI)
- Highest injury
- Fatal
- Fatal injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Cessna 182M
- N-number
- N70946
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.