Seymour Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sevierville, Tennessee 37865
Thursday, September 30, 2004 7:10 EDT

The pilot stated at on take-off roll and at fifty knots, the windshield and side glass fogged up to the point of zero visibility. He stated that he sensed that the aircraft was drifting to the left, at which point he unsuccessfully attempted to correct the path to the right. He stated that he retarded the throttle and began to shut down the plane. The airplane's left wing collided with tall brush and bushes, nosed over in soft mud, and came to rest inverted. Post-accident examination of the accident scene revealed tire marks beginning at the approach end of runway 7, veering left off the runway for approximately 975 feet into brush and soft mud. Other marks were observed in the soft mud leading up to the inverted airplane. One blade of the propeller was buried in the mud. Examination of the airplane revealed the left outboard half of the wing was crushed aft and the right wingtip was separated. The vertical stabilizer was displaced to the right. The nearest weather reporting facility, McGhee-Tyson Airport, Knoxville, Tennessee, 10 nautical miles southwest of Seymour Airpark, Sevierville, Tennessee, at 0653, reported winds as 050 degrees at four knots, visibility of four statute miles in mist, and temperature-dew point of 12 degrees Celsius. Examination of the pilot logbooks revealed that an endorsement for repeated solo flights less than 25 nautical miles was not entered by a certified flight instructor. There were no logbook entry remarks of flight training to or from Seymour Airpark, or take-offs or landing made at Seymour Airpark entered or signed of by a certified flight instructor.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during an attempted takeoff, which resulted in the on ground collision with high vegetation and a subsequent nose over. Factors were a foggy windshield and windshield defrost not activated.