CEN25FA308

Factual narrative

On August 7, 2025, at 1037 central daylight time, a Cessna T182T airplane, N35370, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Augusta, Arkansas. The pilot was fatally injured and the passenger received minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to track data obtained from an Appareo Stratus 2S GPS/ADS-B receiver found onboard the airplane, the airplane departed from the North Little Rock Municipal Airport (ORK) at 0944 (Figure 1.). After departure, the airplane travelled northeast about 65 nautical miles before it began a left turn reversing course. The airplane was heading directly toward the Woodruff County Airport (M60), Augusta, Arkansas. When the airplane was about 2 nm north of M60, it made a right turn toward the northwest followed by a left turn toward the west (Figure 2). The final recoded track point was about 180 ft east of the airplane’s final resting point. Figure 1. A plot of the airplane’s flight track that was recovered from a Stratus 2S receiver found in the wreckage. Figure 2. A plot of the final portion of the airplane’s flight track that was recovered from a Stratus 2S receiver found in the wreckage. The airplane came to rest inverted in an unharvested corn field (Figure 3). The wreckage path was about 70 ft long from the initial impact with the corn to the final resting position on about a 290° heading. Figure 3. A photograph of the airplane at the accident site. The airplane was resting on the upper surfaces of the wing, the cabin roof, and the top of the vertical tail. It was predominately intact with all major flight and control surfaces still attached. The nose landing gear was bent aft, and the nose wheel fork and wheel were separated from the strut. The engine and firewall were pushed aft. The airplane’s flight control systems were examined. The aileron, elevator, and rudder systems were found to be continuous from the cockpit controls to the respective control surfaces with no cable breaks. The cables in the aft fuselage were slack due to crushing and buckling of the fuselage. The flap system was intact, and the flaps were found in the retracted position. The engine remained attached to the firewall. The original engine had been replaced with a Continental IO-550-N41B. According to aircraft records obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the installation of this engine was completed on November 5, 2013, and the installation was performed in accordance with Texas Skyways Inc. STC SA11143SC. After removal of the cowl, the engine rotated freely. The top spark plugs were removed and appeared worn but had normal burn signatures. The engine exhibited suction and compression on all six cylinders when rotated. The forward most valve cover was removed and rotation revealed movement of the rocker arm and valve, indicating continuity of the valve train. Spark was produced on all ignition leads with rotation of the engine and the magneto impulse couplings could be heard. Movement of the throttle, mixture, and propeller cockpit controls was verified at the fuel control, fuel pump, and propeller governor respectively. A JPI EDM-900 engine monitor was installed in the airplane and was retained for data download. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12