19960118000709A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Piper PA-32R-300 · Smithville, TN · January 18, 1996

Date
January 18, 1996 · 22:50 local
Place
Smithville, TN
Airport
Smithville Municipal Airport
Phase of flight
Forced Landing
Operating rules
Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
Operator
PE4A
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N4457X
NTSB investigation
NTSBMIA96LA066
Reported as
Piper PA32R300
Reported engine
Lycoming IO540K1A5
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
1,295 total50 in this make and model141 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Icing unable sustain flight en route. Vectored to 0A3, heavy ice windshield and airframe. Hit VASI and embankment.

As the FAA filed it

ICING UNABLE SUSTAIN FLIGHT EN ROUTE. VECTORED TO 0A3, HEAVY ICE WINDSHIELD AND AIRFRAME. HIT VASI AND EMBANKMENT.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.