# Accident 20030327023319A: Cessna 172R, Cherokee, NC, March 27, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 27, 2003, 20:35 local time
- Place: Cherokee, NC
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Scud Running
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.5667° N, 83.4906° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.5667&lon=-83.4906&mi=10
- Aircraft: N35255, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N35255-2011-02-17) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172R (registry code 2072401, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172r) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172R
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 90 total, 6 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL03FA070](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL03FA070) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030327023319A

## Narrative

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

(-23) AIRCRAFT DEPARTED COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN AIRPORT (CAE), COLUMBIA, SC, AT 1909 EST WITH PILOT, MR. WOODSON AND A PASSENGER. AIRCRAFT LANDED AT PICKENS COUNTY AIRPORT (LQK), SC, AND PASSENGER DEPLANED. AIRCRAFT DEPARTED LQK ENROUTE TO KNOXVILLE DOWNTOWN ISLAND AIRPORT (DKX), KNOXVILLE, TN. MR. WOODSON CONTACTED KNOXVILLE APPROACH CONTROL (TYS) AND REQUESTED THE CURRENT WEATHER AT DKX. MR. WOODSON SWITCHED TO AWOS FREQUENCY, BUT DID NOT RETURN TO APPROACH CONTROL. RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST AT 2035 EST. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND NEAR THE SUMMIT OF CLINGMANS DOME IN THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK. A SEARCH WAS MADE BY PARK RANGERS AND CIVIL AIR PATROL PERSONNEL TO TRACK THE ELT SIGNAL TO HELP PINPOINT THE CRASH SITE. RANGERS LOCATED THE WRECKAGE THE FOLLOWING MORNING. MR. WOODSON SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES IN THE CRASH.

## 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 ATL03FA070](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL03FA070), Mar 28, 2003: Cessna 172R (N35255), Cherokee, NC, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate terrain clearance, which resulted in an in-flight collision with mountainous terrain.

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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