# Accident 20000816008659A: Cessna R182, Princeton, KY, August 16, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 16, 2000, 17:41 local time - Place: Princeton, KY - Airport: Princeton-Caldwell County Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 37.1001° N, 87.8796° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.1001&lon=-87.8796&mi=10 - Aircraft: N3674C, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3674C-2000-12-07) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna R182 (registry code 2072734, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-r182) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA R182 - Reported engine: LYC O540* - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Pilot flight hours: 510 total, 280 in this make and model, 4 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC00FA229](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC00FA229) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000816008659A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON AUGUST 16, 2000 AT APPROXIMATELY 1730 CDT, A CESSNA 182RG, N3674C, DEPARTED PRINCETON, KY AIRPORT, (2MO), FROM RUNWAY 22, FOR A LOCAL FLIGHT. IMMEDIATELY AFTER TAKE-OFF THE PLANE HIT THE TOPS OF SOME TREES, LOCATED AT THE END OF THE RUNWAY, AND CRASHED INTO A GARDEN, CLOSE TO THE TREES AND NEXT TO A TRAILER. THE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE KILLED ON IMPACT. TWO PASSENGERS SITTING IN THE REAR OF THE PLANE WERE INJURIED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED, AND CAUGHT ON FIRE WHEN IT IMPACTED THE GROUND. NEITHER WEIGHT & BALANCE NOR PERFORMANCE APPEARED TO BE A PROBLEM, WITH THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE. IT APPEARS THAT A 44709 RE-EXAM MAY HAVE BEEN APPROPRIATE FOR THE PILOT OF THE AIRCRAFT WHO DIED IN THE CRASH. (.4)ON AUGUST 16, 2000, AT 1741 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 182RG, N3674C, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED TERRAIN SHORTLY AFTER TAKING OFF FROM PRINCETON-CALDWELL COUNTY AIRPORT (2M0), PRINCETON, KENTUCKY. THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED, AND TWO OTHER PASSENGERS WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE LOCAL FLIG T, WHICH WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. ACCORDING TO A POLICE OFFICER, ONE OF THE SURVIVING PASSENGERS STATED THAT THE OCCUPANTS WERE ALL FROM THE SAME COMPANY, AND WERE IN TOWN FOR A BUILDING RESTORATION PROJECT. DUE TO A LULL IN THE WORK SCHEDULE, THEY DECIDED TO TAKE A TOUR OF THE AREA. AFTER TAKEOFF, THE AIRPLANE WAS "TOO LOW," AND COULD NOT CLEAR A TREE LINE. IT "HIT SOME TREES, THIS CAUSED THE WING TO TIP DOWN, AND THEY AGAIN HIT SOME TREES AND THE PLANE CRASHED." IN A RECORDED INTERVIEW WITH A THIRD PARTY, THE OTHER SURVIVING PASSENGER STATED THAT ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT, AFTER THE GROUP HAD FINISHED ITS WORK FOR THE DAY, THE PILOT SUGGESTED THEY "FLY AROUND THE LAKE." THE GROUP THEN WENT TO THE AIRPORT, AND THE PILOT CONDUCTED A PREFLIGHT INSPECTION OF THE AIRPLANE, INCLUDING THE FUEL SYSTEM. AT THAT POINT, "EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE A 'GO' AND...WE STARTED OUT." THE AIRPLANE WAS THEN TAXIED TO THE END OF THE RUNWAY, AND BEGAN ITS TAKEOFF ROLL, WHICH TOOK "THREE QUARTER OR BETTER" OF THE 3,000-FOOT RUNWAY. AFTER TAKEOFF, IT "SEEMED LIKE...WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH POWER OR SOMETHING." THE PASSENGER THOUGHT THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS "JUST GOING TO BARELY MISS [SOME] TREES...BUT...INSTEAD OF BARELY MISSING [THEM], WE ACTUALLY HIT THE TREES AND THINGS STARTED GOING HAYWIRE FROM THERE." THE PASSENGER ALSO NOTED THAT THE AIRPLANE HAD IMPACTED THE TREES WITH ITS LANDING GEAR, AND THEN, IT HAD "SPUN...TO THE LEFT." IN ADDITION, DURING THE TAKEOFF, THE ENGINE HAD "SOUNDED WIDE OPEN," AND NEVER SPUTTERED OR BACKFIRED. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS, AT 37 DEGREES, 06.6 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE, 87 DEGREES, 51.9 DEGREES WEST LONGITUDE. ## 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 NYC00FA229](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC00FA229), Aug 16, 2000: Cessna 182RG (N3674C), Princeton, KY, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to clear trees, for undetermined reasons. 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.