# Accident 20000116000299A: Beech P35, Rogersville, TN, January 16, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 16, 2000, 16:30 local time - Place: Rogersville, TN - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Descent - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 36.4006° N, 83.0002° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.4006&lon=-83.0002&mi=10 - Aircraft: N9740Y, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9740Y-2013-08-21) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Beech P35 (registry code 1151530, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-p35) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental I0-470 series (registry code 17027, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-i0-470-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BEECH P35 - Reported engine: CONT IO470N - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 700 total, 400 in this make and model - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA00FA069](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00FA069) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000116000299A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON JANUARY 16, 2000, ABOUT 1640 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A BEECH BE-35, N9740Y, REGISTERED TO A PRIVATE OWNER, OPERATED AS A 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT, CRASHED INTO CLINCH MOUNTAIN NEAR ROGERSVILLE, TENNESSEE. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED IN THE AREA, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED, AND THE PRIVATE-RATED PILOT RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, THE SAME DAY ABOUT 1400. ACCORDING TO FAA ATLANTA CENTER, THE PILOT RECEIVED VISUAL FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT FOLLOWING UNTIL 1628, AT WHICH TIME, RADAR SERVICE WAS TERMINATED AND A FREQUENCY CHANGE WAS APPROVED. THE REPORTED CEILING AT THE TRI-CITIES AIRPORT, WITHIN 15 MILES OF HAWKINS COUNTY AIRPORT, THE PILOT'S DESTINATION, ABOUT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, WAS 1,300 FEET OVERCAST. IN ADDITION, A WITNESS AT HAWKINS COUNTY AIRPORT STATED THAT INSTRUMENT FLIGHT CONDITIONS EXISTED AT THE AIRPORT AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, AND HAD EXISTED ALL DAY. (-23) VFR FLIGHT FROM (ROU) TO RVN, ROGERSVILLE, TN. AT 6.3 NM NW OF AIRPORT, FLEW INTO TERRAIN AT 2,400FT MSL DURING DESCENT. WX INDICATES IMC AND RIDGE TOPS OBSCURED. (.4)AT 1532, THE PILOT OF N9740Y DEPARTED ON A VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) FLIGHT, AND DURING THE FLIGHT HE HAD BEEN RECEIVING VFR FLIGHT FOLLOWING. ACCORDING TO THE FAA TRANSCRIPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, THE PILOT HAD TWICE REQUESTED PROGRESSIVELY LOWER ALTITUDES TO MAINTAIN VFR. THE CONTROLLER APPROVED THE SECOND REQUEST FOR A LOWER ALTITUDE, BUT TOLD THE PILOT THAT AT THAT ALTITUDE AIR ROUTE TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER (ARTCC) MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN RADAR CONTACT WITH HIS AIRCRAFT AT THAT LOW AN ALTITUDE. THE PILOT'S THIRD REQUEST WAS FOR 7,500 FEET TO AVOID TURBULENCE, AND AT 1619 THE PILOT CHANGED HIS DESTINATION FROM TRI-CITIES REGIONAL AIRPORT TO HAWKINS COUNTY AIRPORT. AT 1622:39 THE PILOT REPORTED TO THAT HE WAS DESCENDING OUT OF FIVE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED FEET. THE CONTROLLER ACKNOWLEDGED, PROVIDING THE LOCAL ALTIMETER SETTING FOR THE NEAREST WEATHER REPORTING STATION, THE TRI-CITIES AIRPORT. AT 1622:50 THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED THE TRI-CITIES ALTIMETER SETTING, STATING, 'THREE ZERO TWO SIX ROGER.' AT 1628.26 THE CONTROLLER SAID, 'NINER SEVEN FOUR ZERO YANKEE RADAR CONTACT LOST SQUAWK ONE TWO ZERO ZERO CLEARED TO ADVISORY FREQUENCY GOOD AFTERNOON'. THE CONTROLLER MADE ONE LAST TRANSMISSION AT 1628:26, SAYING 'NINER SEVEN FOUR ZERO YANKEE ATLANTA.' THERE WERE NO FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE PILOT OF N9740Y. N9740Y STRUCK CLINCH MOUNTAIN, ABOUT 6.7 MILES NORTHWEST OF HAWKINS COUNTY AIRPORT, IN A LEVEL FLIGHT ATTITUDE, AS INDICATED BY THE FRESHLY CUT TREES, AT AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 2,350 FEET, ABOUT 50 FEET BELOW THE 2,400-FOOT ELEVATION. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THE TRI-CITIES REGIONAL AIRPORT WAS REPORTING A CEILING OF 1,300 FEET OVERCAST. WITNESSES AT HAWKINS COUNTY AIRPORT STATED THAT THE CEILING AND VISIBILITY HAD BEEN BOTH LOW AT HAWKINS COUNTY AIRPORT, AND THE AIRPORT HAD BEEN CLOSED DUE TO THE WEATHER. THE PILOT HELD A PRIVATE PILOT AIRPLANE SINGLE ENGINE LAND CERTIFICATE, WITH NO INSTRUMENT RATING. ## 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 MIA00FA069](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00FA069), Jan 16, 2000: Beech P-35 (N9740Y), Rogersville, TN, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision and continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) that resulted in an in-flight collision with terrain and subsequent damage… 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.