Cessna 182 accident near Reliance, TN
On May 7, 2023, a Cessna 182 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Reliance, TN. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- May 7, 2023
- Place
- Reliance, TN
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 35.226°N, 84.422°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230508114699
Official records · ERA23FA219
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- NTSB Prepared Partial Transcription Of Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- FAA Chronological Summary Of Flight Communications: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 7, 2023, about 1849 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182Q, N725AS, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Reliance, Tennessee. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to FAA air traffic control (ATC) records, the flight departed the South Bend International Airport (SBN), South Bend, Indiana, about 1559, on an IFR flight plan enroute to the Jackson County Airport (JCA), Jefferson, Georgia. Radar data indicated that for about the first 2 hours and 30 minutes of the flight, the airplane maintained a relatively straight course on a southeast track, at an altitude of about 9,100 ft msl. Two times during the flight while in contact with separate ATC facilities the pilot requested a radar vector around weather, confirming with one controller that the airplane was equipped with on-board weather observation capability. About 1834, while flying on a southerly heading assigned by the controller, the airplane was located north of moderate to heavy precipitation as indicated by ground-based weather radar returns. The precipitation was associated with thunderstorms that were moving north to south. The associated cumuliform clouds building ahead of the precipitation line would have had strong updrafts as well. At 1839:29, the pilot was provided with a radar vector for weather and advised to proceed direct to the destination airport. The airplane remained briefly on the vectored heading and then turned left flying on a southeasterly headi
Probable cause
The pilot’s decision to continue an instrument flight into an area of forecast weather with severe to extreme turbulence associated with a line of thunderstorms, which resulted in an in-flight breakup. Contributing was the pilot’s operation of the airplane in excess of its published maneuvering speed.
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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.
