CEN09FA178

The pilot's loss of control of the airplane due to spatial disorientation after an encounter with marginal VMC and/or instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to attempt the flight with the preflight knowledge of deteriorating weather conditions.

The non-instrument rated private pilot planned to attend a skydiving event near the destination airport that began the next day. Prior to departure, the pilot was aware of the low clouds affecting the destination airport. The pilot told an acquaintance at the destination airport that he needed to make the flight that night because of deteriorating weather conditions that were expected on the next day. Marginal visual flight rules (VFR) dark night conditions with occasional misting rain prevailed near the accident scene. Nearby stations reported 10 miles visibility with the bases of broken clouds as low as 1,500 feet with overcast clouds above. Radar data shows the airplane was at a varying altitude of approximately 3,000 feet mean sea level (msl) when it began to fly on a meandering course for approximately the last 20 minutes of the flight. The airplane made several turns and descended with the last radar contact at 1,600 feet msl. A witness located about 2 miles south of the accident location said he heard an airplane make several tight turns and estimated the airplane was at 800 to 1,000 feet above him in the clouds when it passed directly overhead. Two to three minutes later he heard the airplane "go to full power" and it sounded like it was "in a dive for about 2 seconds" until he heard the sounds of impact. Radar information and witness account suggested that the pilot may have been disoriented in the marginal VMC flight environment. The airplane was substantially damaged by the impact forces, and subsequent examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have prevented the normal operation of the airplane.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On February 27, 2009, approximately 2345 central standard time, a Cessna 182M, N91593, owned by an individual, and operated by another individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain five miles north of Albany, Louisiana. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. Dark night marginal visual flight rules (VFR) meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. A flight plan had not been filed. The cross country flight departed Slidell Airport (ASD), Slidell, Louisiana, at 2309 and was en route to Marksville Municipal Airport (MKV), Marksville, Louisiana. The pilot planned to attend a skydiving event near the MKV airport that began the next day. A witness at the MKV airport said he had spoken several times during the day with the pilot. The pilot told the witness that his two passengers would be delayed and he wouldn’t be able to depart until about 2100. The pilot said he wanted to arrive by midnight because the weather at the MKV airport was supposed to be worse the next morning. At 2246 the pilot called the witness and said the "clouds are scattered at about 900 feet". The witness said he looked outside and then told the pilot the "clouds are low and scattered here". After departing the ASD airport the pilot contacted New Orleans approach control and got radar flight following for his VFR flight to the MKV airport. Radar contact was lost at 2341. A witness located about 1.6 miles south of the accident location said he heard a single engine airplane south of him traveling east to west. He heard the airplane make a very tight 180 degree turn and then it headed east. The airplane made another tight turn and the airplane "passed directly overhead going north to northwest". Two to three minutes later he heard the airplane "go to full power" and it sounded like it was "in a dive for about 2 seconds" then he heard the sounds of impact. The witness reported that the weather was windy and misting rain occasionally. The witness said “I don’t know how low the cloud deck was but I never saw a single light on the aircraft. It sounded like it was about 800 to 1000 feet above me when it passed overhead“. Several other witnesses near the accident site heard the sounds of impact and called 9-1-1 emergency with the first call logged at 2352. First responders found the wreckage in a wooded area and reported a smell of gasoline. There was no post impact fire. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot, age 39, held a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating. The pilot was issued a FAA second-class medical certificate on February 20, 2008, without waivers or limitations. At that time the pilot reported on his medical certificate application that he had a total pilot experience of 285 hours. The pilot's logbook was not located during the investigation and no other information about his pilot experience was available. The pilot also held an FAA senior parachute rigger’s certificate. He frequently went to skydiving events to pack parachutes and he received compensation for that work. Certificates in the pilot’s flight bag show that he was certified by parachute industry associations as an "SL Jumpmaster" and as a "Vector Tandem Instructor". AIRCRAFT INFORMATION N91593, serial number (S/N) 18259833, a model 182M, was manufactured by the Cessna Aircraft Company in 1969. It was a high-wing, single engine land airplane, powered by a Continental O-470-R engine, S/N 202651-9-R, rated at 230 horsepower, driving a McCauley 2-blade, constant speed, aluminum alloy propeller model 2A34C201C, HUB S/N 692690. The airplane was not equipped with shoulder harnesses. Because of the airplane's year of manufacture shoulder harness installation was not required. The airplane, originally configured with four seats, had been modified to carry parachutists and was configured with only one seat installed in the front left side of the cockpit. All of the remaining seats had been removed and lap belts had previously been installed to accommodate four parachutists sitting directly on the cabin floor. The door on the right side of the airplane had been modified to hinge at the top so that the door could be opened at altitude to allow parachutists to quickly and easily exit the airplane. After all parachutists had exited the pilot could then shut the right side door while he was in-flight and still seated in the left pilot seat. The airplane was issued an FAA standard airworthiness certificate on May 19, 1969, and was certificated for normal category operations. The airplane was registered to the owner on August 15, 2008. The aircraft maintenance records were not available for examination. A few selected pages of recent maintenance record entries recovered from the wreckage show that the most recent annual inspection was completed on October 20, 2008 at a tachometer time of 2,559.8 hours or an aircraft total time of approximately 4,461.5 hours. The aircraft tachometer in the wreckage was observed as 2,602.16 hours making the aircraft total time at the time of the accident as 4,503.85 hours. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION At 2340, the automated surface observing system (ASOS) at Hammond Northshore Regional Airport (HDC) Hammond, Louisiana, located approximately 10 miles east of the accident site, reported the wind from 180 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, broken clouds at 1,800 feet, broken clouds at 2,600 feet, overcast clouds at 7,000 feet, temperature 23 degrees Celsius, dew point 20 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.90 inches of Mercury, with an observation that lighting was observed to the distant north. At 2353, the automated surface observing system (ASOS) at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (BTR) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, located approximately 27 miles west of the accident site, reported the wind from 190 degrees at 15 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, broken clouds at 1,500 feet, overcast clouds at 2,100 feet, temperature 23 degrees Celsius, dew point 19 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.86 inches of Mercury. At 2345, data from the weather radar near New Orleans, LA (KLIX), which was located about 42 miles south-southeast of the accident, identified areas of very light precipitation (reflectivity values of 10-25 dBZ) in the vicinity of the accident. An Airmen's Meteorological Information (AIRMET) was in effect in the area of the accident that warned of the possibility of ceilings below 1,000’, and visibilities below 3 statute miles with precipitation and rain. A witness located about 1.6 miles south of the accident location estimated at the time of the accident that the cloud bases were no higher than 1,000 feet above ground level and reported occasional misting rain. U. S. Naval Observatory records for Albany, Louisiana on the day of the accident show that the sun set at 1924 and the “waxing crescent” moon set at 2147. COMMUNICATIONS The following is a timeline of communications between the pilot of N91593 and Air Traffic Control (ATC). 2310: N91593 contacted New Orleans approach and requested flight following to the MKV airport. 2310: New Orleans approach advised radar contact at 1,500 feet mean sea level (MSL). 2132: New Orleans approach instructed N91593 to contact Baton Rouge approach, and the pilot responded. 2333: N91593 contacted Baton Rouge approach and advised he was enroute to the MKV airport. 2341: Last radar update at 2341:58 showed N91593 was at 1,600 feet MSL. 2343: Baton Rouge approach advised N91593 that radar contact was lost. No further communications were received. RADAR INFORMATION A direct course from the ASD airport to the MKV airport was approximately 290 degrees at a distance of 124 nautical miles. A review of the radar data from the first