Cessna T182T N6289Z accident near Oroville, Washington

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain terrain clearance while maneuvering. Contributing to the accident was the pilots’ selection, for undetermined reasons, of a route different than the most commonly used route.

NTSB analysis

The owner/pilot and another pilot were on a visual flight rules personal cross-country flight near mountainous terrain. The wreckage was discovered after the sheriff's department responded to a call of a forest fire in the area. There were no reported witnesses to the accident sequence. Examination of the accident site indicated that the airplane impacted a hillside at an elevation of 3,093 ft above mean sea level, which was 2,029 ft above the departure airport's elevation. The 45-degree angle cut damage signature on a tree and the propeller damage signatures indicated that the engine was developing power at the time of impact. The fuselage, wings, and most of the empennage were consumed by a postimpact fire. No evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies was discovered with the engine or airframe.

It could not be determined which pilot occupied which seat and who was manipulating the flight controls when the accident occurred. It is unknown why the pilots attempted to fly over the mountain range to the east rather than to use the most common flight route down the valley toward the south. Further, the location where they attempted to cross the rising terrain was very close to the airport, and a witness had seen the airplane depart and fly eastbound at an altitude of about 400 ft above ground level. Therefore, the pilots had a reduced amount of time and distance to climb the airplane to an altitude sufficient to clear the mountain range. The pilot's decision to turn eastbound to cross the mountain range placed the airplane in a situation that prevented a successful crossing, and the pilot failed to recognize that the airplane was unable to climb above the terrain until it was too late to escape.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR15FA241 for the full record.