Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Elizabethton, Tennessee 37643
Tuesady, March 18, 2014 19:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On March 18, 2014, about 1930 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172K, N46603, operated by Skypark, Inc., was substantially damaged after it impacted mountainous terrain in Elizabethton, Tennessee. The private pilot and a passenger sustained serious injuries and another passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was file for the personal flight operating under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight originated from Elizabethon Municipal Airport (0A9), Elizabethton, Tennessee, about 1915 and was destined for Weltzien Skypark (15G), Wadsworth, OH.
According to the pilot, he made an unscheduled stop for fuel at 0A9 after discovering the fuel services at his scheduled airport was closed. After topping off the fuel tanks at 0A9 he departed runway 6, turned left crosswind, then downwind where he departed the pattern about 500 ft above ground level and headed North towards Holston Mountain. While following the upslope of the mountain at a 500 ft/min rate of ascent and nearing a mountain peak, the pilot realized the airplane would not clear the upcoming terrain. The pilot considered returning to the airport, but noticed a small valley to his right that appeared to have a lower terrain elevation. He then turned towards the valley, but during the turn the airplane started to descend. After leveling the wings the pilot determined he was going to crash and rolled the aircraft on its left side to avoid trees. The left wing impacted trees, the airplane fell to the ground, and came to rest on its left side.
During the pilot's interview with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NTSB, the pilot stated he should have gained more altitude before starting his climb over the mountain, but felt the airplane "should have had more power."
Postaccident examination of the airplane by representatives from the FAA and the airframe manufacturer did not reveal any anomalies or malfunctions to the airframe that would have precluded normal operation.
The engine has been retained by the NTSB for further examination.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/18/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1930 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Elizabethton |
| Event State | TENNESSEE |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 37643 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 362560N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0820936W |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| 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 | 1856 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 30 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | 0A9 |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1593 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.95 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| 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 | Apr 2 2014 7:49AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N46603 |
| NTSB Number | ERA14LA158 |
| 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 | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 172K |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17257379 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2299 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 4 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 3064 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | SKYPARK INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | WADSWORTH |
| Aircraft Owner State | OH |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 442820420 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | SKYPARK INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | WADSWORTH |
| Operator State | OH |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 442820420 |
| 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 | 0A9 |
| Departure City | ELIZABETHTON |
| Departure State | TN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1915 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 15G |
| Destination City | WADSWORTH |
| Destination State | OH |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 2 2014 7:50AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |