ERA11FA412

The pilot’s loss of control due to spatial disorientation while maneuvering in dark night conditions.

About 20 minutes after departing on a visual flight rules cross-country flight, the pilot ceased responding to air traffic controllers after being advised to contact the next air traffic control facility. Controllers continued to track the airplane as it flew toward the stated destination airport and then turned toward the airport adjacent to the accident site. The airplane arrived in the vicinity of the airport nearly 1 hour after the end of civil twilight and began maneuvering in the vicinity of the approach end of one of the runways. After performing two 180-degree turns, the airplane entered a steep, descending right turn toward the runway's final approach course. The airplane impacted trees about 1/2 mile from the runway threshold, and the wreckage path roughly aligned with the runway's final approach course. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures. The airplane's audio panel microphone selector was found set to a position that would not have allowed the pilot to communicate with controllers or to activate the airport's pilot-controlled runway lighting. A pilot who flew into the airport later that night described that area as a very disorienting "black hole" due to the lack of ground lighting at night. The maneuvering observed as the airplane arrived in the vicinity of the airport suggested that the pilot may have been attempting to activate the airport's pilot-controlled lighting and locate the runway. The pilot was likely unable to activate the lighting due to an inadvertent misconfiguration of the audio panel earlier in the flight. After flying through the final approach course twice, the pilot may have elected to attempt to locate the unlit runway using the airplane's landing light, the airplane's onboard global positioning system receivers, and/or the airport's precision approach path indicator lights as a guide. However, as he turned the airplane toward the dark area located southwest of the runway threshold, he likely experienced spatial disorientation, lost awareness of the airplane's attitude, and allowed it to enter a right descending spiral, which continued to impact.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 20, 2011, at 2157 eastern daylight time (EDT), a Cessna 182S, N23739, was substantially damaged during impact with trees and terrain approximately 1/2-mile southwest of Harnett Regional Jetport (HRJ), Erwin, North Carolina. The certificated private pilot and passenger were fatally injured. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed Key Field Airport (MEI), Meridian, Mississippi, at 1621 central daylight time. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. All times are expressed in (EDT) unless otherwise noted. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Control (ATC) archived communication and radar data, information recovered from a handheld global positioning system (GPS) receiver found in the wreckage, and interviews with family members of the pilot, the pilot and two passengers departed from Erwin, North Carolina on July 19, 2011, and flew to Philadelphia Municipal Airport (MPE), Philadelphia, Mississippi. During that trip the pilot stopped at Harris County Airport (PIM), Pine Mountain, Georgia, before continuing on to MPE. Upon arriving at MPE, the pilot contacted his family to advise that the group had arrived in Mississippi and that the airplane had "flown great." While in Philadelphia, one of the passengers purchased a vehicle at an auction, and elected to drive the vehicle back to Erwin. On the afternoon of the accident day, the pilot contacted flight service via telephone at 1531. He reported that he was at MPE, and was flying to Fayetteville Regional Airport (FAY), Fayetteville, North Carolina. The pilot estimated that the flight duration would be about 5 hours, and he requested a weather briefing from the flight service briefer. During the 9-minute conversation, the briefer informed the pilot of thunderstorm activity over much of the proposed route of flight. The pilot then requested a weather briefing for a flight to PIM. The briefer advised that the predicted weather over Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia was not favorable to flying, and recommended that the pilot fly south of Meridian, Mississippi and Montgomery, Alabama before turning to the east in order to avoid the majority of the thunderstorm activity. At 1556, the pilot and the remaining passenger departed MPE and flew to MEI, landing at 1617. The pilot subsequently serviced the airplane with 35.1 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel at 1654. At 1715, the pilot contacted MEI ground control and requested to taxi for departure. The pilot was offered and accepted radar flight following services, and stated that his destination was Columbus Metropolitan Airport (CSG), Columbus, Georgia, and that he planned to fly at an altitude of 5,500 feet during the flight. ATC subsequently issued the pilot a transponder code of 5601, and the flight departed MEI at 1721. At 1723, the pilot contacted the departure controller and was radar identified. About 8 minutes later, the departure controller advised the pilot of multiple areas of precipitation with an unknown intensity over the next 50 miles, and offered to provide the pilot with radar vectors around the weather. The pilot acknowledged the offer, but made no further requests for vectors around weather. At 1741, the pilot contacted the departure controller to inquire about the weather conditions, but the controller advised that the pilot was unreadable, and asked him to switch to a different transmitter. At 1743, the pilot contacted the controller again, with an improved quality transmission. The pilot reported that he had "broken out" into marginally good weather conditions, and the controller further advised the pilot of precipitation along his intended route of flight. At 1744, the controller asked the pilot to report the cloud conditions in his area, and the pilot replied. The departure controller then provided the pilot with a frequency on which to contact the Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). The pilot initially read back an incorrect frequency before repeating the correct frequency. After the pilot had not contacted the Atlanta ARTCC by 1754, the MEI departure controller attempted to contact the pilot and again provide him with the frequency. No response was received, and no further communications were received from the accident pilot for the remainder of the flight. Air traffic control continued to track the flight, and on numerous occasions attempted to contact the pilot, all with no response. About 1901, the airplane passed within 3 nautical miles (nm) of CGS, shortly after which it turned from its eastbound track to a northeast bound track, directly toward HRJ; about 330 nm northeast. At 2043, ATC made a final attempt to contact the pilot after the airplane passed through the airspace of Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina. At 2105, the airplane's transponder code changed from the previously assigned discrete code to the standard visual flight rules (VFR) code of 1200. At 2137, the airplane began tracking eastward toward the final approach course at HRJ. About this time, the airplane also began descending from its previously established cruising altitude of about 5,500 feet. At 2139, the airplane descended below the ceiling of the class C airspace surrounding Pope Air Force Base (POB), Fayetteville, North Carolina. The airplane subsequently descended below the outer shelf floor airspace at 2142, and was roughly tracking the final approach course to runway 05 at HRJ. At 2148, the airplane reached a point about 1 nm southwest of the runway 05 threshold at HRJ, and was displaced about 0.3 nm from, and parallel to, the runway final approach course. The airplane then turned right and began tracking southeast as it climbed from 1,300 feet to 2,100 feet. The airplane then made a left, 180-degree turn and began tracking back toward the point 1 mile from the runway 05 threshold, and descended to 1,300 feet. About 3 nm northwest of the airport, after climbing to about 1,800 feet, the airplane made another 180-degree turn, and began tracking back toward the runway 05 final approach course. At 2156:38, the airplane had again crossed the final approach course to runway 05, and had climbed to an altitude about of about 2,000 feet. Over the next 40 seconds, the airplane performed another 180-degree turn, and descended to about 1,800 feet. At 2157:12, the airplane's position as recorded by the handheld GPS receiver recovered from the wreckage became unreliable, but placed the airplane within less than 1 nm of the accident site. The final position was recorded at 2157:27. The airplane's position, as reported by ATC radar between 2157:04 and 2157:14, was recorded as a track that began 1.2 miles south of the runway 05 threshold, and continued east, followed by a right turn to the northwest. During that time, the airplane descended from a reported altitude of 1,800 feet, to 1,500 feet 10 seconds later. The right turn continued as the final radar target was recorded at 2157:24, at a reported altitude of 700 feet, and a groundspeed of 141 knots, about 2,100 feet southwest of the initial impact point. The calculated descent rate between the final two radar targets was 4,800 feet per minute. On the morning of July 21, 2011, the families of the pilot and passenger became concerned that the pilot and passenger had not returned, and could not be reached by telephone. The pilot's family contacted several FAA ATC facilities along the pilot's expected route of flight, and a missing aircraft alert notice was subsequently issued. Upon reviewing ATC radar data, the FAA identified an uncorrelated VFR radar target in the vicinity of HRJ on the evening of the accident flight. The FAA subsequently notified the Civil Air Patrol and local first responders, who located the wreckage later that day, about 1443. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The