Jackson County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Gainesboro, Tennessee 28562
Sunday, October 4, 2009 19:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a visual flight rules cross-county flight, the pilot elected to make an unscheduled landing to obtain updated weather information. The pilot subsequently elected to depart from runway 36, a 3,500-foot-long, unlighted, asphalt runway. It was a dark night and the pilot used glow sticks to illuminate points around the runway. The pilot reported that the takeoff and initial climb were normal, but that he did not have any further recollection of the flight. The airplane subsequently impacted trees along rising terrain northwest of the airport, substantially damaging the airplane. A witness who heard the airplane depart stated that the engine noise was "loud" with no fluctuations. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector did not reveal any preimpact malfunctions. The pilot received his private pilot certificate about 3 months prior to the accident and reported about 120 hours of total flight experience.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees. Contributing to the accident were the rising terrain and night light conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/4/2009
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1945
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Gainesboro
Event State TENNESSEE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 28562
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 362455N
Event Location Longitude 0853903W
Event Location Airport Jackson County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 1A7
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 515
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 753 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 135
Weather Observation Facility ID CSV
Elevation of weather observation facility 1881
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 38
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Night
Lowest Ceiling Height 6500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
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) 30.1
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 3
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 26331
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 13 2009 3:27PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N95472
NTSB Number ERA10CA006
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-28-140
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-25980
Certified Max Gross Weight 2150
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 Jul 3 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 5532
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name DURAN JEROME J
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City MURFREESBORO
Aircraft Owner State TN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 37129-2347
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name DURAN JEROME J
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City MURFREESBORO
Operator State TN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 37129-2347
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 1A7
Departure City Gainesboro
Departure State TN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2015
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MBT
Destination City Murfreesboro
Destination State TN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 13 2009 3:27PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 3500
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --