Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 182 near Gatlinburg, TN — 2016-12-26

Final reportERA17FA073
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Date
2016-12-26
Location
Gatlinburg, TN, USA
Airport
GKT
Aircraft
CESSNA 182
Registration
N1839X
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
3
Phase of flight
Descent

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.

Contributing factors

Contributing to the accident was the pilot's established anti-authority attitude.

NTSB narrative

The non-instrument-rated private pilot elected to conduct the cross-country flight over mountainous terrain without obtaining a weather briefing or filing a flight plan. As he approached his destination, the pilot requested a descent from his cruising altitude of 9,500 ft mean sea level (msl), which was approved by air traffic control. The controller instructed the pilot to maintain visual flight rules flight throughout his descent. Instead, the pilot descended the airplane into a cloud layer between 7,000 ft msl to 5,000 ft msl despite his instructions from air traffic control. Radar data and satellite weather imagery depicted the airplane in a steady-state descent inside a solid cloud layer which tracked north, directly toward the destination airport. The radar track ended at 5,400 ft. msl abeam a mountain peak at 6,500 feet elevation. The accident site was located at 5,400 ft in steep, mountainous terrain about 15 miles south of the destination airport at the same position as the last radar target. Examination of the wreckage revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies and signatures consistent with controlled flight into terrain. The pilot had a history of disregard for established rules and regulations. The pilot's airplane was about 2 months overdue for an annual inspection. He was counseled numerous times by an experienced flight instructor about his unsafe practice of operating the airplane in instrument meteorological conditions without an instrument rating, but he continued to do so over a period of 2 years and again on the accident flight. His contempt for rules and regulations was consistent with an anti-authority attitude, which is hazardous to safe operation of aircraft. The pilot had used the potentially-impairing stimulant phentermine at some time before the flight, but the samples available for testing were inadequate to quantify impairment. Therefore, it could not be determined if the pilot's use of phentermine contributed to this accident.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
VFR into IMC
First missed decision gate
Pilot should have canceled the flight due to worsening weather conditions.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • ADS-B / radar
  • Photos
  • 19 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents19

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