Cessna 182T accident near Wendover, Utah, December 12, 2014
On December 12, 2014 at about 3:30 am local time, a 2002 Cessna 182T, registered N961GW, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Wendover, Utah (Wendover airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain situational awareness during a turn which resulted in a loss of airplane control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 12, 2014 · about 3:30 am local time · cases in 2014
- Place
- Wendover, Utah · Wendover · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182T T, built 2002 · all 182Ts on the register
- Registration
- N961GW · no longer on the register · serial 18280961
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After accomplishing a touch and go landing, during a moonless night, the pilot initiated a left climbing turn and orientated himself with the departure end of the runway, by looking outside and behind the airplane. While looking outside, the pilot inadvertently put the airplane into a left steep bank and was unable to recover. Prior to the airplane impacting terrain, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings, the pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions 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
What happened, in order
- Loss of control in flight during initial climb defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Perception/orientation/illusion › Situational awareness › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 210 hours in all; 16 in this make and model; 74 in the last 90 days; 29 in the last 30 days; 128 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 13, 2014
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
Passenger
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,702.3 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 21, 2014
- Maximum gross weight: 2,348 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 SER (piston); 2,702 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OGD Ogden UT at 2:30 am
- Destination: ENV Wendover UT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26, 10,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 3:35 am from ENV, 2 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
1 document, released by the NTSB on April 2, 2015. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N961GW: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Cessna 182 Skylane 11,834 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,685 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 SER 4,222 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Wendover Airport · nearest airport
- Ogden-Hinckley Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Utah 1,440 since 1982 · 264 in the last ten years
- Utah 8,356 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/WPR15CA059.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.