Cessna 182Q accident near Nixon, Nevada, October 29, 1998
On October 29, 1998 at about 3:45 pm local time, a Cessna 182Q, registered N95726, was destroyed in an accident near Nixon, Nevada. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The noninstrument rated pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during an attempted flight into adverse weather which resulted in inadvertent VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Factors in the accident were the pilot's failure to obtain an updated briefing prior to departure, and icing conditions encountered after entering the clouds.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 29, 1998 · about 3:45 pm local time
- Place
- Nixon, Nevada · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182Q · all 182Qs on the register
- Registration
- N95726 · no longer on the register · serial 18266610
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The noninstrument rated pilot was en route VFR on a northeasterly course to the destination. During the last 8 minutes of the flight, recorded radar data showed the aircraft descending from 14,500 feet to 13,000 feet, on a southwesterly course until the aircraft abruptly entered a left descending spiral and disappeared from radar near the accident site. Meteorological data and pilot reports showed cloud tops in the area near 15,000 feet with higher tops further east and rime icing probable in the clouds. The pilot received a weather briefing from flight service the previous evening (11 hours before the flight) which forecast VFR conditions along the route. The pilot did not receive any further briefing before departing the following morning. Updated weather, available in the morning, contained reports of poorer weather than previously forecast.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 507 hours in all; 15 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,710 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 22, 1998; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-U (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: O17 Grass Valley CA at 2:15 pm
- Destination: WMC Winnemucca NV
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 pm from RNO, 22 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N95726 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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 LAX99FA020.