At 14:20 Pacific time, a Canadian-registered Cessna U206G struck trees five miles east/northeast of Mica. The pilot was killed. IMC prevailed and the flight was on a VFR flight plan from Renton, Wash., to Spokane and then on to Calgary, Alberta. The pilot contacted Spokane Approach at 13:51 and reported his position as 15 miles south of Spokane, tracking inbound on a 006 degree magnetic heading at 2,700 feet. He requested the weather and vectors to land and, when asked to squawk 0345, advised he was experiencing some transponder trouble. The aircraft was not radar identified. Less than 10 minutes later the pilot radioed that he would head toward Coeur DAlene, Idaho, or seek a small airport to the south. Later he advised Spokane Approach that he was heading 020 degrees to Coeur DAlene and was 22 miles out. Three minutes later there was a brief ELT transmission. The 14:15 automatic surface observation for Coeur DAlene reported broken clouds at 100 feet and overcast conditions at 1,600 feet.
March 08, Mica, Wash. / Cessna Stationair
At 14:20 Pacific time, a Canadian-registered Cessna U206G struck trees five miles east/northeast of Mica. The pilot was killed. IMC prevailed and the flight was on a VFR flight plan from Renton, Wash., to Spokane and then on to Calgary, Alberta. The pilot contacted Spokane Approach at 13:51 and reported his position as 15 miles south of Spokane, tracking inbound on a 006 degree magnetic heading at 2,700 feet. He requested the weather and vectors to land and, when asked to squawk 0345, advised he was experiencing some transponder trouble. The aircraft was not radar identified. Less than 10 minutes later the pilot radioed that he would head toward Coeur DAlene, Idaho, or seek a small airpor...
Key Takeaways:
- A Canadian Cessna U206G pilot died in a crash into trees near Mica while operating under a VFR flight plan in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC).
- The pilot reported transponder trouble, was not radar identified, and was attempting to divert due to adverse weather conditions.
- IMC prevailed at the crash site, and the pilot's intended diversion airport (Coeur D'Alene) reported very low clouds (broken at 100 ft, overcast at 1600 ft) shortly before the incident.
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