Cessna 182P accident near Tenino, Washington, March 4, 1986
On March 4, 1986 at about 7:35 am local time, a Cessna 182P, registered N182FW, was destroyed in an accident near Tenino, Washington. It was a business 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 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 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 4, 1986 · about 7:35 am local time
- Place
- Tenino, Washington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182P · all 182Ps on the register
- Registration
- N182FW · no longer on the register · serial 18263766
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT DEPARTED FOR HIS DESTINATION WITHOUT FILING A FLIGHT PLAN NOR OBTAINING A WEATHER BRIEFING. THE FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED IN DARK NIGHT AND INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. LOW CEILINGS PREVAILED IN THE VICINITY OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT'S OVERALL INSTRUMENT EXPERIENCE WAS MINIMAL AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT HE HAD ACQUIRED ANY RECENT INSTRUMENT EXPERIENCE. APPROXIMATELY 35 MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT THE PILOT BECAME SPATIALLY DISORIENTED AND LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN.
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: 332 hours in all; 51 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 171 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,444 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 27, 1985; 39 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-S (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BFI Seattle WA at 7:01 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 100° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,200 ft; scat at 900 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 pm from OLM, 6 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.
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.