Cessna 172 accident near Fontana, NC
On May 5, 1999, a Cessna 172 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Fontana, NC. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 5, 1999
- Place
- Fontana, NC
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 35.420°N, 83.441°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X18833
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 5, 1999, about 1945 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172, N30DS, registered to a private individual, impacted with rising terrain in a mountainous area near Fontana, North Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, but clouds and low ceilings were reported in the area of the crash site. A VFR (visual flight rules) flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was destroyed. The airline transport-rated pilot was fatally injured. The flight had originated at 1636 from Jacksonville, Florida, and was en route to Knoxville, Tennessee. The flight took off from Jacksonville, Florida, and the pilot contacted departure control. The pilot was instructed to fly a heading of 020 degrees and climb to 3,000 feet. At 1657, the pilot requested VFR flight following to Knoxville Downtown Airport, at an altitude of 4,500 feet, and was issued a transponder code of 2662. The flight was radar identified 23 miles west of Brunswick, Georgia, and the pilot was told to advise of any altitude changes. At 1710, ATC (air traffic control) advised the pilot of weather along his flight path, and the pilot deviated west of course. En route the pilot contacted Macon Approach, Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), and Knoxville Approach. The pilot made radio contact with Knoxville (TYS) Approach Control, and reported that he was level at 8,500 feet, inbound to the Knoxville Downtown Airport. The controller advised the pilot of reported tops of the clouds at 7,000 feet msl (mean sea level), and that the base of the clouds
Probable cause
the pilot continued visual flight into know weather conditions which resulted in reduced visibility, and the subsequent in-flight collision with rising terrain. Factors in this accidents were clouds and low ceiling in the accident area.
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Browse: North Carolina · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
