Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Traveler's Rest, South Carolina 29690
Tuesady, December 3, 2013 18:09 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, he departed the Nashville, Tennessee area earlier in the day and was en route to his destination of Greenville, South Carolina at 9500 feet above mean sea level (msl). He stated that he checked the automated surface observing systems weather report and that the clouds in the Morristown, Tennessee area were reported to be at 7,000 feet above ground level. He added that he knew that he would be able to clear the mountains just below the recorded ceiling height when needed. The pilot was operating under the provisions of day visual flight rules (VFR) on top of the broken/overcast cloud layer prior to beginning the descent through the clouds. During the descent, the pilot stated that the ceiling appeared lower than reported and he elected to climb back up to VFR on top. During this process, the pilot became disoriented, hit a tree, and impacted the side of a mountain. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and empennage. The recorded ceiling and visibility at Greenville Downtown Airport, Greenville, South Carolina, about 10 nautical miles to the southeast of the accident site was an overcast ceiling at 800 feet msl and the visibility was 9 statute miles. The pilot reported that there were no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's decision to continue visual flight into deteriorating weather, which resulted in an encounter with instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent inability to maintain clearance with terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/3/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1809 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Traveler's Rest |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29690 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 350956N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0822623W |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | -- |
| 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 | 1811 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 170 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | GMU |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1048 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 19 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 600 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Broken |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 8 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 80 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.92 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | 03/12/2013 23:11-> SPECI KGMU 032311Z 08003KT 8SM |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 32550 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Pilot's Family |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 16 2014 10:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N581TC |
| NTSB Number | ERA14CA062 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | ANDERSON ANDREAS |
| Aircraft Model | RANS S-6S |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | SUPERSIX |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 09071827 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1320 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 21 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 84 |
| Airframe Hours | 840 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C126 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ANDERSON ANDREAS |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | VAN NUYS |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 914112117 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | William Griffin Anderson |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Weedenswil |
| Operator State | FN |
| Operator Country | SZ |
| Operator Zip code | 8820 |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | JWN |
| Departure City | Nashville |
| Departure State | TN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | GMU |
| Destination City | Greenville |
| Destination State | SC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 16 2014 10:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |