Cessna 182Q accident near Rozel, Kansas, February 16, 2004
On February 16, 2004 at about 11:14 pm local time, a Cessna 182Q, registered N735RD, was destroyed in an accident near Rozel, Kansas (Pratt Industrial airport). It was an aerial observation flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions, the spatial disorientation, and aircraft control not maintained by the pilot during cruise flight. Contributing to the accident were the night instrument meteorological conditions due to low ceilings and low visibility, an incomplete pre-flight weather briefing, and the lack of recent experience in instrument meteorological conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 16, 2004 · about 11:14 pm local time · cases in 2004
- Place
- Rozel, Kansas · Pratt Industrial · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182Q · all 182Qs on the register
- Registration
- N735RD · registry record · serial 18265617
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial observation flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The cross country flight departed without a flight plan, and the airplane was found destroyed in an agricultural field located in a sparely populated area. Night visual and instrument meteorological conditions were reported between the flight's departure and destination airports. A weather briefing was given to a caller representing the accident airplane in which the caller did not specifically request and was not provided with a standard weather briefing for the flight. Weather briefing information provided by the flight service station briefer indicated visual flight rule conditions. The briefer did not provide available weather forecast and present weather information that would have depicted instrument meteorological conditions in southwestern Kansas. Witnesses in the area reported observing instrument meteorological conditions in the accident site vicinity. According to the operator of the accident airplane, the pilot had not flown instruments for about three years and did not have more than 20 hours of actual instrument flight time. No mechanical anomalies were noted with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,800 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,096 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 18, 2004
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Pratt Air Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: PTT Pratt KS
- Destination: CBK Colby KS
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 150° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.19 inHg
- Observation at 11:30 am from PTT, 49 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N735RD on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 182 Skylane 11,834 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,677 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental O-470 12,780 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Pratt Regional · nearest airport
- Shalz Field · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Kansas 1,147 since 1982 · 149 in the last ten years
- Kansas 5,753 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CHI04FA071.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.