- Date
- January 17, 2025, 04:35 local (10:35 UTC)
- Place
- Smyrna, TN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N21254Cessna 182
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250117000719A
- Case key
- 199597
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 maintain an appropriate approach path, resulting in the airplane contacting a tree during a landing approach at night.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
While flying a visual approach to the runway at night, and in a gusting crosswind, the pilot turned from the base leg of the traffic pattern to final approach and corrected for the crosswind. The pilot transitioned from a crabbing crosswind correction to a slipping crosswind correction and noticed that he was below the glideslope for the runway as indicated by the precision approach pathway indicator lights. The pilot increased engine power to correct, but the airplane impacted the top of a tree, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing and right horizontal stabilizer. He subsequently landed the airplane uneventfully. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N21254
- Reported as
- Cessna 182 (P)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18261519
- Built
- 1972
- Airframe hours
- 4,343
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-470R, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 2, 2024 · 43 hours before
- Departed
- KTYS · Knoxville, TN
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- MQY · Smyrna, runway 14, 8,038 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Waiver time limited special
- Last flight review
- December 5, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 599 total · 72 in this make and model · 532 as pilot in command · 43 in the last 90 days · 31 in the last 30 days · 17 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 190° at 9 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.87 inHg
- Turbulence
- Moderate
- Observed at
- MQY
- METAR
- KMQY 180456Z AUTO 19009G18KT 10SM -RA OVC060 08/06 A2987 RMK AO2 SLP125 P0000 T00830056 401561050
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 22, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.1 MB in all.
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 N21254 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.