Cessna 182P accident near Index, Washington, April 14, 1995
On April 14, 1995, a Cessna 182P, registered N182AL, was destroyed in an accident near Index, Washington. 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 pilot's continued flight into known adverse weather, and his improper use of carburetor heat. Factors include: weather conditions conducive to carburetor icing and airframe icing, airframe ice, and mountainous/hilly terrain in the area of the forced descent.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 14, 1995
- Place
- Index, 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
- N182AL · registry record · serial 18262294
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While en route, the pilot advised ATC that he was picking up carburetor ice, did not seem able to get rid of it, and could not maintain his assigned altitude of 14,000 feet. He was cleared to 10,000 feet, and about 2 minutes later reported that he had virtually no power left and could not maintain 10,000 feet. He was advised that he was in 10,000-foot terrain. In response to an ATC query, the pilot reported that he was trying the carburetor heat but when he applied it the engine lost what little power it was producing. The airplane subsequently impacted steep snow-covered terrain about 100 feet below the top of a rock ridge. The pilot had earlier reported that he was picking up a trace of rime ice. During his weather briefing, the pilot was advised that the forecast for his route included occasional moderate rime or mixed ice in clouds and precipitation between 4,000 and 12,000 feet. The briefing included the fact that a moist unstable air mass, with cloud tops to 20,000 feet, would be approaching western Washington in the late afternoon.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,110 hours in all; 23 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,997 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 1, 1995; 58 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: S10 Chelan WA
- Destination: PAE Everett WA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
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.
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 SEA95FA079.