Cessna 182G accident near West Point, Indiana, April 16, 1987
On April 16, 1987 at about 3:42 pm local time, a Cessna 182G, registered N2382R, was destroyed in an accident near West Point, Indiana (Purdue University airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 16, 1987 · about 3:42 pm local time
- Place
- West Point, Indiana · Purdue University · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182G · all 182Gs on the register
- Registration
- N2382R · registry record · serial 18255482
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG AN IFR ARRIVAL, THE PLT WAS CLRD FOR AN ILS RWY 10 APCH. NO RADAR FACILITIES WERE AVAILABLE, BUT AT 1026 EST, HE RPRTD HE WAS ESTABLISHED ON THE LOCALIZER. APRX 4 MIN LATER, HE DECLARED A MISSED APCH & WAS CLEARED BACK TO THE OUTER MARKER (OM), THEN WAS CLRD FOR ANOTHER ILS APCH. HOWEVER, AT 1042 EST, THE CONTROLLER LOST RADIO CONTACT WITH THE ACFT BEFORE THE PLT REPORTED REACHING THE OM. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE PLANE WAS FND WHERE IT CRASHED APRX 10 MI SW OF THE ARPT WHILE ON A SOUTHEASTERLY HEADING. THE DEGREE OF WRECKAGE DISINTEGRATION SHOWED THE ACFT HAD IMPACTED AT A HI RATE OF SPEED. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FND DRG AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE. THE 1053 EST WX AT THE ARPT WAS IN PART: 400' OVERCAST, VIS 1-1/4 MI WITH FOG, WIND FROM 300 DEG AT 9 KTS. A CHECK OF THE PLT'S LOGBOOK SHOWED HE HAD LOGGED ONLY 2 HRS OF INSTRUMENT TIME IN THE PREV 90 DAYS.
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
- LOSS OF CONTROL - IN FLIGHT during approach
- IN FLIGHT COLLISION WITH TERRAIN/WATER during descent - uncontrolled
Pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land, none, APLN, none
- Flight time: 2,432 hours in all; 946 in this make and model; 33 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 2,379 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: class 3
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,934 hours
- Last inspection: type not recorded, January 13, 1987; 33 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operating certificate: in the vicinity
The flight
- Departed from: DEC Decatur IL at 2:28 pm
- Destination: LAF Lafayette IN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 10, 6,600 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 400 ft; not recorded at 400 ft
- Temperature: 52°C, dew point 50°C
- Altimeter: 29 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from LAF, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N2382R the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI87FA114.