Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Virginia Highlands Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee 37680
Thursday, October 31, 2002 9:50 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was in visual cruise flight over mountainous terrain at 6,500 feet when he noticed clouds building at 5,000 feet and decided to return to the airport. The pilot descended through a half- to one-mile gap in the clouds, and, at 4,500 feet, clear ice began to form rapidly on the airplane. The pilot descended to 2,500 feet in a mountain valley and the airframe ice began melting. The pilot then initiated a climb to clear a ridgeline, but the airplane collided with trees and caught fire. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. Recorded weather data revealed low ceilings in the vicinity throughout the morning. The pilot stated he did not obtain a weather briefing.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with terrain, which resulted in an inflight collision with mountainous terrain. Factors were the pilot's inadequate preflight planning and failure to obtain weather information, which resulted in an inflight encounter with adverse weather.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/31/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 950 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Laurel Bloomery |
| Event State | TENNESSEE |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 37680 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 363358N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0814558W |
| Event Location Airport | Virginia Highlands |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | VJI |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 30 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 150 |
| Airport Elevation | 2087 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1000 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 330 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KVJI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2087 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 30 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1900 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 5 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.13 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1317 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KVJI 311440Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM OVC023 06/03 |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13679 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Com Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 31 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1545 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 23 2003 8:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA Nashville FSDO - 03 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N15704 |
| NTSB Number | ATL03LA011 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28R-200 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 73-35083 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2650 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 20 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 107 |
| Airframe Hours | 6870 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Dorsch Aviation, LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 127 N. Tryon St. Apt. 312 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Charlotte |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 28202 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Francis Edward Dorsch |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 2917 Windsor Road |
| Operator City | Winston Salem |
| Operator State | NC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 27104 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | INT |
| Departure City | Laurel Bloomery |
| Departure State | TN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 900 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | VJI |
| Destination City | Abingdon |
| Destination State | VA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 21 2003 1:47PM |
| User who most recently changed record | POWP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |