Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Blairsville, Georgia 30512
Sunday, November 27, 2005 15:45 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The non-instrument rated private pilot stated he and his wife arrived at the departure airport the day before the accident. The airplane was topped off with fuel and they remained over night in the local area. The pilot and his wife returned to the airport the following morning and elected not to depart on the VFR flight due to weather obscuring the mountain tops. The pilot checked the weather using the Aviation Weather Observation Service and departed. The pilot and his wife returned to the airport and departed VFR at 1300. The pilot encountered weather along the route of flight and returned to the departure airport 30 minutes later. The pilot and his wife remained at the airport and departed VFR at 1530. The pilot stated he encountered a cloud while attempting to climb over the mountains. The base of the cloud was about 2,000 feet and he was at 3,500 feet. The pilot attempted to maneuver around the cloud in an attempt to clear a ridgeline. The pilot stated he could not reverse his direction due to insufficient space to turn around. The mountain top is at an elevation of 4,461 feet. The airplane collided with the mountain 1,261 feet below the top of the mountain. The surface weather observation at the departure airport was visibility 10 miles, 2,700 broken and 3,800 feet overcast. The airplane collided with trees and came to a stop. The pilot exited the airplane, walked most of the night trying to find help, and located a camper the following morning. The camper called the emergency 911 operators and the pilot was transported to a local area hospital. The pilot stated the airplane did not experience a mechanical failure or malfunction before the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The non-instrument rated pilot's continued flight into known adverse weather and his failure to maintain clearance in mountainous terrain, resulting in an in-flight collision with trees and the ground. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of an instrument rating.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/27/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1545 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Blairsville |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 30512 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 344504N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0835614W |
| 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 | 1542 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 17 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | RHP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1697 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 21 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2700 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| 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) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 19312 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Communication Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 27 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 28 2006 1:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Atlanta FSDO-11 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6485R |
| NTSB Number | ATL06LA019 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28-140 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-21676 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1950 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 1 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Randy W. Hackle |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | RR 2, Box 152 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Cobbtown |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 30420 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | -- |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | -- |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | RHP |
| Departure City | Andrews |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1530 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | MHP |
| Destination City | Metter |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 13 2006 12:58PM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |