The private pilot and flight instructor took off in the Cessna 182Q. Soon after takeoff, the pilots contacted ATC and reported their intentions to operate in the southwest practice area. The pilots were instructed to remain at or above 2,500 feet above ground level (agl) for traffic. The pilot acknowledged the restriction and advised that his maneuver might cause a loss of altitude at their current position.
ADS-B data showed that the airplane completed several circling maneuvers near the coast and descended toward an old airstrip before climbing back to 2,500 feet agl.
The airplane proceeded north, and the altitude and airspeed increased. As the airplane reached about 4,500 feet agl, the airspeed decreased, and the airplane began to slowly descend before entering a rapid descent until the final recorded point. In the last 18 seconds of recorded data, the airplane made a right turn and descended at a rate of about 11,250 feet per minute.
The airplane hit soft, muddy terrain near Hackberry, Louisiana. The initial impact crater was about 15 feet deep and contained a majority of the airplane, including the engine, propeller, fuselage, and empennage. A debris field that contained the wings and smaller airplane components extended about 40 yards from the crater. Both the pilot and CFI were killed in the crash.
Two witnesses, who were in close proximity to the accident site but at different locations, stated that they observed the airplane come straight down, nose first to the ground. One witness reported that no smoke was coming from the airplane, and he never saw the cockpit. Both witnesses reported the engine was loud.
According to a co-owner of the airplane, the private pilot had recently purchased a share of the 182 and was in the process of receiving training for complex and high-performance aircraft endorsements. The day before the accident, one of the co-owners was in the back seat of the airplane when the two accident pilots conducted a training flight. He stated that the pilot completed the flight maneuvers well and he did not notice anything of concern.
Probable Cause: The flight instructor did not maintain control of the airplane during training maneuvers, which resulted in a rapid, steep descent and impact with terrain.
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This February 2021 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
I have a pretty good guess about what happened, based on an experience I had while instructing about 40 years ago. I had a new private pilot who wanted to be checked out in a 182. While at altitude doing various air work maneuvers including power-on stalls, I commented not to try falling leaf stalls at full power in the 182, something we had done successfully in the 172. He asked why not, and I told him that it wasn’t possible to maintain control. He retorted that he was sure he could, so I made the mistake of telling him to try—and on the 3rd oscillation as he tried to keep up with the rudder, the airplane flipped over into a spin. I had taught him spin recoveries, but he just froze, with the yoke all the way back, full power on, and full left rudder. I first tried to talk him out of it, but when he didn’t respond, I pulled the throttle and had to hit his arms hard to knock his hands off the yoke. In the process, we lost some 4000’ before I recovered it from the spin.
I’m guessing that this Louisiana accident was something similar, with the newish pilot freezing at the controls, and the instructor not being able to get him to let go in order to recover from a spin. Unlike a 172, which has relatively benign spin characteristics, I learned from my episode that a 182 (which is prohibited from being intentionally spun) spins more rapidly and loses altitude more quickly. I look back at my experience and am glad that I was at the top of my game at the time, yet I accept that it was my fault for not being more assertive about not doing a risky maneuver.