Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Colorado City, Texas 79512
Tuesady, November 12, 1996 9:50 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness reported that he heard the sound of a low flying aircraft proceeding in a northwest direction; however, he could not see the aircraft because of the low cloud cover. He said 'The engine appeared to be a little loud . . . and that he '. . . did not hear the engine make a definite miss, or cut out.' He observed the airplane descend from the overcast skies in a left turn and nose low attitude, then the airplane impacted the ground. Ceilings in the area were estimated between 300 and 900 feet AGL. The pilot had delayed his flight departure due to foggy weather conditions. He had not logged any instrument flight time from 7/2/86 to the last entry in his pilot flight log, which was for 10/17/96. Also, the pilot's wife reported that her husband had not flown instruments in a long time. Flight control continuity and integrity were verified, and an examination of the engine revealed no preimpact discrepancies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's encounter with instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and his subsequent loss of aircraft control, due to spatial disorientation. Factors relating to the accident were: the clouds, low ceilings, and the pilot's lack of recent instrument experience.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/12/1996
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 950
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City COLORADO CITY
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79512
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 68
Weather Observation Facility ID ABI
Elevation of weather observation facility 1790
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 70
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1789
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Nov 12 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1205
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:27AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5116N
NTSB Number FTW97FA039
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 182Q
Aircraft Series Identifier 182Q
Aircraft Serial Number 18267527
Certified Max Gross Weight 2960
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 14 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 69
Airframe Hours 994
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RICHARD K. NUNLEY
Aircraft Owner Street Address 225 COUNTY ROAD 567
Aircraft Owner City EASTLAND
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 76448
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code ETN
Departure City EASTLAND
Departure State TX
Departure Country
Departure Time 900
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code E02
Destination City ODESSA
Destination State TX
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Descent - uncontrolled
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --