- Date
- September 29, 1991, 02:10 local (06:10 UTC)
- Place
- Knoxville, TN
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N5918ECessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 9, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910929043649A
- Case key
- 8480
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 pilot's failure to accurately evaluate the weather conditions before attempting a takeoff and his delay in aborting the takeoff procedure. A factor was the dark night.
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 pilot attempted an early morning takeoff from a runway where fog had formed. He attempted a mid-field departure with 2700 feet of runway, but encountered additional fog during the takeoff roll. He elected to abort the takeoff procedure with insufficient runway to safely stop the airplane. The airplane skidded off the departure end of runway 26 and sank in the river.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5918E
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17271960
- Airframe hours
- 3,346
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Aviation Atlanta, Inc.
- Registered owner
- American East Airways
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 17, 1991 · 23 hours before
- Departed
- DKX · Knoxvill, TN
- Destination
- PDK · Chamblee, GA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- Downtown Island Airport, runway 26, 2,600 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 25
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 89 total · 79 in this make and model · 54 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TYS, 8 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N5918E · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.