# Accident 20021214038719A: Piper PA28150, Cashiers, NC, December 14, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 14, 2002, 11:30 local time
- Place: Cashiers, NC
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.2500° N, 83.1667° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.2500&lon=-83.1667&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5899W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5899W-2005-02-07) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-150 (registry code 7102804, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-150) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28150
- Reported engine: LYC O320*
- Pilot flight hours: 287 total, 90 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA03LA029](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA03LA029) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021214038719A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON DECEMBER 14, 2002, ABOUT 1133 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-28-150, REGISTRATION N5899W OWNED AND OPERATED BY MR. GARFIELD E. HUMPHREYS WHILE ON A PART 91 FLIGHT ORIGINATING IN NASHVILLE, TN WITH ONE PASSENGER CRASHED ABOUT FIVE TO SIX MILES WEST OF CASHIERS, NC IMPACTING WHITESIDE MOUNTAIN AT APPROXIMATELY A 4200 FEET MSL LEVEL. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED IN THE AREA AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. BOTH AVL AND RHP STATIONS REPORTED THESE VFR CONDITIONS. MR. HUMPHREYS STATED WHILE AT CRUISE AT 7500 FEET HE NOTED SOME CLOUDS AND TO REMAIN VFR HE INITIATED A CLIMB TO 9500 FEET. DURING HIS CLIMB TO 9500 HE RECOGNIZED GREENVILLE, SC APPROXIMATELY THIRTY (30) MILES IN THE DISTANCE. MR. HUMPHRIES ADVISED ATLANTA AIR ROUTE TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER (ARTCC) THAT HE WOULD BE INITIATING A DESCENT IN VFR CONDITIONS TO GREENVILLE, SC. MR. HUMPHREYS STATED THAT IN HIS DESCENT, HE RECALLED ADVISING CENTER OF HIS DESCENT AND DIDN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING ELSE UNTIL EXITING THE AIRCRAFT THAT IMPACTED TREES ON THE HILLSIDE OF WHITESIDE MOUNTAIN. ADDITIONALLY, HE COULD ONLY PRESUME HE ACCUMULATED CLEAR ICE IN THE DESCENT WHICH CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO STALL. THE SCENE INDICATED A FLIGHT PATH THROUGH THE TREE TOPS TO A POINT WHERE THE AIRCRAFT SLOWED AND STOPPED PERMITTING THE NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT TO DROP STRAIGHT DOWN AND FALL THROUGH THE TREES TO A HEIGHT OF APPROXIMATELY FIVE (5) FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THE PASSENGER, ^PRIVACY DATA OMIT^ GAVE SEPARATE TESTIMONY DURING THIS INSPECTOR'S INTERVIEW BASICALLY CONFIRMING THE TESTIMONY OF MR. HUMPHREY'S.

## 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 MIA03LA029](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA03LA029), Dec 14, 2002: Piper PA-28-150 (N5899W), Cashiers, NC, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision by which he conducted visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain terrain clearance. Contributing factors were a low…

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.

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