Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Jackson County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sylva, North Carolina 28723
Thursday, December 29, 2005 13:00 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The aircraft collided with trees and terrain after encountering forecasted instrument meteorological conditions. About 30 minutes before the accident the pilot N799TM contacted the FAA Gainesville, Georgia, Flight Service Station (FSS), requested to file an instrument flight plan, and received a weather briefing for a flight from the Jackson County Airport in Sylva, North Carolina, to Pensacola, Florida. The Gainesville FSS briefer informed the pilot of the current weather conditions, and referenced a flight precaution for mountain obscuration throughout the day. The pilot stated to the briefer that he was looking through a hole right now, and was pretty sure he could stay VFR. The pilot also informed the briefer "he could see the top of the clouds, and see a little bit of the blue". The briefer also informed the pilot of a flight precaution for moderate turbulence below ten thousand feet. The pilot stated, "that he would be looking for it". Prior to departing, the pilot inquired as to how to activate an IFR flight plan once he departed. The briefer informed the pilot he could open the IFR flight plan once airborne. There were no further communications with the airplane once airborne. Witnesses in the vicinity of the accident site reported hearing an airplane flying low in a southerly direction. The sound of the engine faded away, and then "rev-up" followed by the sound of trees breaking with a loud "thump". The witnesses stated "that you could not see more that 50-feet in front of you", and that it was very foggy. A search team was dispatched and was unable to locate the airplane due to inclement weather conditions in the area. The airplane was located the following day on the side of the Savannah Ridge Mountain at an elevation of 4,400 feet, 5 miles south of the Jackson County Airport. Post accident examination of the airframe, flight controls, engine assembly, and accessories revealed no anomalies.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's continued VFR flight into IMC conditions resulting in a collision with mountainous terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/29/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1300 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Sylva |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 28723 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 351446N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0831438W |
| Event Location Airport | JACKSON COUNTY |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 24A |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 2857 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1354 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 80 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AVL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2165 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 33 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1200 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 360 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 21 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.65 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 21350 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Communication Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 30 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 25 2007 2:54PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Charlotte FSDO-33 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N799TM |
| NTSB Number | ATL06FA029 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cirrus Design Corp. |
| Aircraft Model | SR22 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 0817 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3400 |
| 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 | Feb 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 144 |
| Airframe Hours | 236.1 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Energy Systems Cirrus LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1027 S FAIRFIELD DR |
| Aircraft Owner City | Pensacola |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 32506 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 24A |
| Departure City | SYLVA |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1250 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PNS |
| Destination City | PENSACOLA |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 28 2007 10:58AM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |