Cessna 172 accident near Lowndesville, SC
On September 19, 2009, a Cessna 172 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Lowndesville, SC. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 19, 2009
- Place
- Lowndesville, SC
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 34.159°N, 82.694°W
- NTSB ID
- 20090921X83758
Official records · ERA09LA527
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 19, 2009, about 1106 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172, N5845A, was substantially damaged after impacting the water on Lake Russell, near Lowndesville, South Carolina. The certificated private pilot and passenger were killed. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which departed from a private airstrip located near Maryville, Tennessee, destined for Athens/Ben Epps Airport (AHN), Athens, Georgia. The flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to hand written documentation, located with the wreckage, the flight departed at approximately 0926 and an entry was made that reported at 1056, the fuel tanks had been switched; however, no entry was given stating which tank the fuel selector was selected towards. Two witnesses, on a boat near the edge of the lake, were interviewed over the phone by an NTSB investigator. According to both witnesses, the airplane was heard flying overhead of their location several times. One of the witnesses reported that the engine was "making a pop pop sound intermittently," then it sounded like a lot of engine power was applied. They both reported that they had observed the airplane descending out of the "very low" overcast cloud layer, between 70 and 90 degrees nose down attitude, with the wings level on a path directly toward them. It veered away from their location, and then impacted the water approximately 75 feet from their boat. Prior to impacting the water, one of the witnesses reported from
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and improper decision to continue flight into deteriorating weather conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation after entering instrument flight conditions.
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Browse: South 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.
