Probable cause
Impact with a lake for reasons that could not be determined.
NTSB analysis
The airplane departed on a visual flight rules (VFR) local flight and did not return as planned. Local authorities discovered the pilot’s body five days later, near the shore of a lake about 28 nautical miles northeast of the departure airport. There were no witnesses to the accident, and the wreckage was not recovered.
There was no radar information that could be definitively correlated with the accident airplane. Review of weather information for the day of the accident was consistent with VFR conditions in the area of the accident site, and model sounding data suggested no low clouds or restrictions to visibility.
Autopsy and toxicology of the pilot did not reveal evidence of physiological impairment or incapacitation.
The circumstances of the accident could not be determined based on the available information.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR20LA028 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Nov 11, 2019
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Metaline, Washington
- Highest injury
- Fatal
- Fatal injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Cessna 182
- N-number
- N8749T
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1960
- Damage
- Destroyed
- 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.