Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Pelzer, South Carolina 29697
Thursday, December 9, 2004 10:13 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Upon arriving near the destination airport the pilot was advised that the weather was below the approach minimums and was asked if he wanted to divert to his alternate airport. The pilot told the tower controller that he did not have an alternate filed. The tower controller advised the pilot that Donaldson Center Airport was nearby and asked the pilot if he would like to divert to Donaldson. The pilot elected to divert to Donaldson and he was given radar vectors for the final approach course for runway 5. As the pilot maneuvered for the approach, the airplane descended below 2,500 feet at which time the tower controller issued a low altitude warning with no response from the pilot. Attempts to re-establish communication with the pilot were unsuccessful. Examination of the crash site revealed a damaged power line about 75 feet above the ground and that the tops of four trees were also damaged. Airplane debris was scattered on a 195-degrees magnetic heading, and the wreckage path was 100 feet wide by 450 feet long. The engine was separated from the airplane and was found 300 feet from the main wreckage. The left wing was separated from the airframe and found on the right side of the wreckage path. No mechanical problems were reported by the pilot prior to the accident. The post-accident examination of the wreckage failed to disclose a mechanical problem or component failure. Radar data shows the airplane losing 600 feet of altitude in a period of 14 seconds before the airplane was lost on radar. The elevation at the crash site was 955 feet.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to follow IFR procedures and to maintain assigned altitude resulting in a collision with a transmission wire and trees.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/9/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1013 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Pelzer |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29697 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 343822N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0822959W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | GSP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | -- |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 400 |
| 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) | 2 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 9 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 20 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.01 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 3 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 19102 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Com Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 9 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1100 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 28 2006 12:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Columbia FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N42SE |
| NTSB Number | ATL05FA034 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Diamond Aircraft |
| Aircraft Model | DA40-180 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 40.353 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2535 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 1 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 108 |
| Airframe Hours | 108.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Accu Pad, Inc |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1324 Harris Bridge RD |
| Aircraft Owner City | Anderson |
| Aircraft Owner State | SC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 29621 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Harry Moore |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 1324 Harris Bridge Rd. |
| Operator City | Anderson |
| Operator State | SC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 29621 |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | CRG |
| Departure City | Jacksonville |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 800 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | GYH |
| Destination City | Greenville |
| Destination State | SC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 14 2005 1:38PM |
| User who most recently changed record | POWP |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |