Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 172R near Nashville, TN — 2013-10-29

Final reportERA14FA027
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Date
2013-10-29
Location
Nashville, TN, USA
Airport
BNA
Aircraft
CESSNA 172R
Registration
C-GRJH
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The noninstrument-rated pilot’s continued visual flight into night instrument flight rules conditions, which resulted in a collision with the runway during an attempted approach to land. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s mental state, his impairment due to alcohol, and his decision to operate the airplane from Canada to the United States without the owner’s permission and without proper clearances for the flight.

Contributing factors

Contributing to the accident was the pilot's mental state, his impairment due to alcohol, and his decision to operate the airplane from Canada to the United States without the owner's permission and without proper clearances for the flight.

NTSB narrative

The noninstrument-rated pilot rented the airplane in Canada and filed a visual flight rules flight plan for a cross-country flight to a destination in Canada; the flight had not been approved to leave Canada. The flight plan was subsequently closed; the investigation could not determine the flight's last departure point and time. The airplane wreckage was found on an airport runway in Nashville, Tennessee, the following afternoon during an airfield inspection. Postaccident examination of the airplane found no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A review of airport radar data indicated that the airplane entered the Nashville area at night almost 9 hours after its initial departure time and that the airplane circled the airport for about 2 hours before it crashed on the approach end of the runway. Instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions, which included horizontal visibility of 1/4 statute mile and vertical visibility of 100 ft above ground level, existed about the time of the airplane's arrival until it crashed. A review of the pilot's health records, which included a mental health report provided by the pilot's parole officer, revealed that he had a history of repeated convictions for criminal activity and that he had developed a significant interest in a celebrity who lived in Nashville. Although the medical records did not include a specific psychiatric diagnosis, the pilot's prior criminal actions and impulsive behavior are consistent with antisocial personality disorder, which likely led to his impetuous decision to fly to Nashville. It is likely that, because of his impetuous decision, the pilot was unware of the IFR conditions in Nashville until he arrived in the area and that, because he was not instrument rated, he was unable to safely land the airplane with no visual contact with the runway. Toxicological testing of the pilot's blood revealed significantly elevated levels of ethanol, indicating that the pilot ingested alcohol before the accident. The alcohol likely further impaired the pilot's judgment and his ability to fly the airplane safely in IFR conditions.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
VFR into IMC
First missed decision gate
Pilot did not file an IFR flight plan in IMC conditions.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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  • 20 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents20

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