- Date
- January 27, 1991, 18:45 local (23:45 UTC)
- Place
- Bryson City, NC
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2589SCessna 337C
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report March 9, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910127001249A
- Case key
- 8308
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions in mountainous terrain by the noninstrument rated pilot.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The flight departed cleveland, Tennessee en route to sylva, north carolina. According to the co-owner of the aircraft, he had advised the noninstrument rated pilot not to attempt the flight due to the poor weather conditions which existed in the mountainous area. The aircraft wreckage was found near the top of a ridge line at 5,200 feet above mean sea level. The wreckage was distributed over an area approximately 1,200 feet in length. Witnesses in the area of the accident site reported that at the time of the accident the weather was less than that required for flight under visual flight rules.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2589S
- Reported as
- Cessna 337C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 337-0889
- Engine
- Continental IO-360-C, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Vernon, Barron I & Christopher
- Registered owner
- Vernon, Barron I & Christopher
- Departed
- HDI · Cleveland, TN
- Destination
- 24A · Sylva, NC
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 50
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 260 total · 77 in this make and model · 171 as pilot in command · 46 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.