# Accident 19981108031849A: Cessna 172N, Lima, SC, November 8, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: November 8, 1998, 16:40 local time - Place: Lima, SC - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Scud Running - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.9592° N, 82.4303° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.9592&lon=-82.4303&mi=10 - Aircraft: N4696G, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4696G-2012-11-27) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 172N (registry code 2072434, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N - Reported engine: LYC O320H2AD - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 10,000 total, 500 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL99LA013](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL99LA013) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981108031849A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. PILOT CAME ON THE FREQUENCY AND ADVISED THAT THE ACFT HAD CRASHED INTO TREES. (-23) PILOT FLEW INTO IMC CONDITIONS WHILE FOLLOWING INTERSTATE BETWEEN MOUNTAINS UNDER OBSURED CLOUD CEILING OF 4,000 FT. DURING CLIMB AIRCRAFT FLEW INTO TERRAIN AND IMPACTED GROUND.(.4) ON NOVEMBER 8, 1998, ABOUT 1640 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 172N, N4696G, COLLIDED WITH TREES AND MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN NEAR LIMA, SOUTH CAROLINA. THE AIRPLANE WAS OPERATED BY THE REGISTERED OWNER UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 91, AND VISUAL FLIGHT RULES. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC) PREVAILED AT THE ACCIDENT SITE, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT. THERE WERE MINOR INJURIES TO THE OWNER/PRIVATE PILOT, NO INJURIES TO THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR, AND THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED IN HENDERSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, ABOUT 1630 DESTINED FOR GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA. ACCORDING TO THE STUDENT PILOT, THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED HENDERSVILLE AIRPORT WITH HIMSELF IN THE LEFT SEAT AND THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR IN THE RIGHT SEAT. THE STUDENT PILOT WAS ADVISED THAT THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR WOULD TAKE OVER IF IMC CONDTIONS WERE ENCOUNTERED DURING THE FLIGHT. THE STUDENT PILOT WAS AT THE CONTROLS AS THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING NAVIGATED BETWEEN MOUNTAINS FOLLOWING A MAJOR HIGHWAY. ACCORDING TOT HE STUDENT, HE WAS ADVISED TO STAY BELOW THE LOWERING OVERCAST AND FOLLOW HIGHWAY 25 TO GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA. AFTER FOLLOWING A BEND IN THE HIGHWAY, IMC WAS ENCOUNTERED AND THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR TOOK OVER AS PILOT-IN-COMMAND. A CLIMB WAS INITIATED THOUGH IMC, ON COURSE, IN ORDER TO ATTAIN VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS ABOVE THE LOWERED CEILING AND MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. SHORTLY AFTER INITIATING THE CLIMB, THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TREES AND MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR STATED, "HE FAILED TO RECALL THAT THE HIGHWAY, AND THE VALLEY, DEVIATED TO THE WEST. NORMALLY THEY WOULD NOT DESCEND BELOW THE TOPS OF THE MOUNTAINS FLYING THIS ROUTE, BUT ALLOWED THEMSELVES TO DESCEND RATHER THAN TURN AROUND WHEN THE CLOUD CEILING LOWERED." THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR STATED THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL MALFUNCTIONS OR FAILURES WITH THE AIRPLANE. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB ATL99LA013](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL99LA013), Nov 8, 1998: Cessna 172N (N4696G), Lima, SC, destroyed. Probable cause: The flight instructor's intentional flight into Instrument Meteorological Conditions. Factors were trees and mountainous terrain. ## Other reports on N4696G (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19970131001069A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970131001069A), Jan 31, 1997: Cessna 172N (N4696G), Fort Wayne, IN, Substantial damage. On January 31, 1997, at 2202 eastern standard time (EST), a Cessna 172N, N4696G, registered to aerolina, inc., of hendersonville, north carolina, received… - [Incident 19960826030379I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960826030379I), Aug 26, 1996: Cessna 172N (N4696G), Danville, WV, Minor damage. Narrative: while enroute from clarksburg, WV to hendersonville, NC Cessna N4696G piloted by charles folkart, experienced engine failure and was forced to land… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.