Cessna 182G accident near Sandia Park, New Mexico, November 16, 2015
On November 16, 2015 at about 8:00 pm local time, a 1964 Cessna 182G, registered N2440R, was destroyed in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Sandia Park, New Mexico. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and a loss of control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 16, 2015 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Sandia Park, New Mexico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182G, built 1964 · all 182Gs on the register
- Registration
- N2440R · no longer on the register · serial 18255540
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The instrument rated pilot did not receive a weather briefing nor file a flight plan prior to departing on a VFR cross-country flight. Radar data showed that the airplane proceeded west on course after departure. As the airplane neared a north/south-oriented mountain range, it deviated from the direct course to the destination, turning to the southwest and then to the north. Overlaying the airplane's flight path on a weather radar image showed that the airplane began the deviation as it approached an area of precipitation. Additionally, photographs taken by a passenger during the flight indicated that the airplane was flying above a solid overcast. As the airplane flew north parallel to the eastern slope of the mountain range, the pilot contacted the destination airport's air traffic control tower and reported that he was descending out of 13,000 ft, that he was between cloud layers, and that he wanted to perform an instrument landing system approach to the airport . He reported being 5 miles east of the airport; however, radar data indicated that the airplane was about 25 miles east and on the other side of the mountain range from the destination airport. The pilot then said the situation was "pretty hairy . . . I can see the ground . . . I'm just trying to maintain visibility right now," and, a few minutes later, "we are really having a tough time trying to get out of this [*mess]." Radio contact was lost shortly thereafter. Radar data indicated an erratic flight path and a varying groundspeed during the last 4 minutes of the flight. Radar contact was lost, and the airplane impacted heavily wooded mountainous terrain in a near vertical attitude. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. In addition to the precipitation indicated by the weather radar imagery, satellite imagery showed cloud cover over the accident area with tops about 28,000 ft. The weather imagery, the pilot's statements, the erratic flight path, and the airplane's impact attitude are consistent with the airplane entering instrument meteorological conditions and the pilot developing spatial disorientation and losing control. Toxicological testing revealed 0.326 (ug.mL, ug/g) sertraline, a prescription antidepressant, in the pilot's heart blood and desmethylsertraline, a metabolite of sertraline, in the pilot's liver and heart blood. The pilot's medical records indicated that he was being treated for depression with sertraline, and, several months before the accident, the pilot's health care provider noted that the pilot's depression was well controlled.. Therefore, it is unlikely that effects from the pilot's depression or use of sertraline contributed to the accident.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- VFR encounter with IMC during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Loss of visual reference during enroute (cruise)
- Loss of control in flight during maneuvering
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Perception/orientation/illusion › Spatial disorientation › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Not attained/maintained
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Low visibility › Effect on personnel
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Low visibility › Effect on personnel
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 500 hours in all; 100 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental/P. Ponk O-470-50 (piston); 0 hours total
- Not recorded
The flight
- Departed from: KCWC Wichita Falls TX at 3:37 pm
- Destination: KAEG Albuquerque NM
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 21 knots, gusting 27
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,100 ft; a few clouds at 500 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.62 inHg
- Observation at 6:56 pm from KABQ, 23 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
21 documents, released by the NTSB on September 20, 2017. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N2440R the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.