Cessna 182 N2007X accident near Hanapepe, Hawaii

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed following a partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined during postaccident examination, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall.

NTSB analysis

The commercial pilot and four passenger-skydivers were departing in the airplane on a local area skydiving flight in visual meteorological conditions. Witnesses observed the airplane make a normal takeoff from the runway. Two witnesses reported that, shortly after takeoff, the engine seemed to stop producing power. Subsequently, the airplane rolled to the right while rapidly losing altitude. The airplane completed about a 360° rotation and impacted terrain in a nose-down attitude.

One of the four cameras recovered from the wreckage contained a 33-second video that captured the flight from the takeoff roll through the impact. The video showed the airplane after takeoff in a positive climb and a slight left roll. About 24 seconds into the recording, the video's audio track revealed a reduction in the volume of the engine sound. Two seconds later, the airplane started to roll to the right. The movement of the camera became increasingly erratic, consistent with the airplane entering an unusual flight attitude. The engine sound continued to decrease until the airplane impacted the ground. A sound spectrum study showed that the engine rpm decreased from 2,650 to 1,215 over the final 9 seconds of the flight, consistent with a partial loss of engine power.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failures or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane was estimated to be about 10 lbs above its maximum gross weight and within the center-of-gravity limits published for the maximum gross weight; therefore, weight and balance was likely not a factor in the accident.

The weather conditions at the time of takeoff were conductive to the formation of carburetor ice at glide power. Given that the airplane was operating at a high power setting at the time of takeoff, carburetor icing was unlikely.

Based on the witness observations and the onboard video recording, it is likely that the pilot failed to maintain airspeed following a partial loss of engine power, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall. The reason for the partial loss of engine power could not be determined.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR16FA116 for the full record.