VFR encounter with IMC: Cessna 182K Skylane, N2764Q, fatal accident occurred on August 8, 2024, near Augusta, Montana

• Location: Augusta, Montana
• Accident Number: WPR24FA270
• Date & Time: August 8, 2024, 13:01 Local
• Registration: N2764Q
• Aircraft: Cessna 182K
• Aircraft Damage: Substantial
• Defining Event: VFR encounter with IMC
• Injuries: 3 Fatal
• Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

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On August 08, 2024, at 1301 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182K airplane, N2764Q, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Augusta, Montana. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The non-instrument-rated pilot and two passengers departed on a cross-country flight toward mountainous terrain. During the first portion of the flight, visual meteorological conditions prevailed; however, the overcast cloud layer became lower as the airplane continued into rising terrain. Recorded flight data revealed that the pilot maneuvered the airplane through and between several mountain canyons and valleys as he continued in the general direction of the intended destination. The airplane crossed several ridges with as little as about 250 ft of terrain clearance and made a series of turns each time it approached high terrain immediately ahead. The airplane continued through rising terrain, then climbed through a narrow upslope mountain pass at the edge of the range. As the airplane approached the pass, it began a substantially steeper climb as the airspeed slowed, followed by a rapid descent and impact with the canyon wall.

Weather forecast and observation data indicated that the region where the flight was conducted was broadly covered by an overcast layer with localized areas of low clouds, fog and mist. Weather information that would have been available to the pilot before the flight forecast marginal to instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) with clouds obscuring the mountains along the route of flight.

Witnesses who were hiking in the area around the time of the accident and who were first to arrive on the scene confirmed that the pass near the accident site was windy and frequently enveloped in fog. It is likely that as the airplane flew into narrow valleys with increasing elevation, cloud ceilings were lower than the surrounding mountains, and the distance between the surface and the overcast layer became more constrained as the airplane continued along the route.  

Given the low overcast and mountain obscuration, limited options to navigate or reverse course in narrow, constrained terrain, and known conditions in the upsloping mountain pass where the accident occurred, it is likely that the airplane entered an area of clouds and subsequently impacted terrain.

- Probable Cause: The non-instrument-rated pilot's decision to continue a visual flight rules flight into a rugged mountain area in deteriorating weather conditions, which resulted in impact with terrain.

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. He did not hold an instrument rating. He was issued an FAA third-class medical certificate without limitations in February 2024, at which time he reported 149 total hours of flight experience. The pilot’s spouse indicated that the pilot had recently reported he had accrued about 200 to 215 total hours of flight experience. The pilot’s logbook was not located following the accident. There was no indication that the pilot had completed a specialized mountain flying course or training. 

Previous Flights 

Review of publicly available ADS-B flight records for the accident airplane, which was owned by the pilot, covering the period from January 2023 though August 2024 revealed that it was flown regularly in the Portland, Oregon, area. Additionally, many of the cross-country flights were flown direct, point-to-point. None of the recorded flights were in or over the Rocky Mountains or through complex mountainous terrain comparable to that of the accident flight.