Cessna 182 accident near Gatlinburg, TN
On December 26, 2016, a Cessna 182 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Gatlinburg, TN. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 26, 2016
- Place
- Gatlinburg, TN
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 35.652°N, 83.458°W
- NTSB ID
- 20161227X03229
Official records · ERA17FA073
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- ATC Factual Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC Factual Report - Attachment 1: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC Factual Report - Attachment 2: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 26, 2016, about 1602 eastern standard time, a Cessna 182H, N1839X, collided with mountainous terrain during descent for landing to Gatlinburg Pigeon Forge Airport (GKT), Sevierville, Tennessee. The private pilot and two passengers were fatally injured; the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal cross-country flight. The airplane departed Keystone Airpark (42J), Keystone Heights, Florida, about 1300. Information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the airplane was receiving visual flight rules (VFR) flight-following services and was at 9,500 ft mean sea level (msl) when the pilot requested a descent into GKT. At 1554, the controller approved the descent, issued an altimeter setting, and directed the pilot to "maintain VFR." Radar data depicted a descent on a ground track of about 340° directly toward GKT at a groundspeed between 130 and 150 knots. At 1558, about 20 miles from GKT, the airplane descended below the minimum vectoring altitude of 8,000 ft msl. The airplane continued its descent on the same ground track and about the same speed. At 1602, the radar target was at 5,400 ft msl abeam the peak of Mt. LeConte, elevation 6,500 ft, when the radar track ended. At that time, the controller issued the airplane a radio frequency change to the GKT frequency and terminated radar services. No reply was received from the ai
Probable cause
The non-instrument-rated pilot's intentional visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's established anti-authority attitude.
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Browse: Tennessee · 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.
