# NTSB MIA01LA220: Piper J-4A, N27848, Mosheim, TN, August 19, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 19, 2001, 17:50 local (22:50 UTC) - Place: Mosheim, TN - Coordinates: 36.190299, -82.94979 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.1903&lon=-82.9498&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal, 2 minor; on the ground: 1 fatal, 1 minor - Status: Completed, report October 23, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 53048 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=MIA01LA220 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/53048/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA01LA220 ## Probable cause The failure of the student pilot to maintain altitude clearance during a balked landing go-around resulting in the collision with a utility pole, transmission wires, and a ground borne vehicle. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, landing - aborted - altitude/clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - object - utility pole - object - wire,transmission - object - vehicle ## Analysis According to the pilot, substantiated by two witness statements, his first landing attempt to the 800-foot grass strip resulted in an extended flare due to a tail wind, and his subsequent go-around attempt resulted in collision with power lines at the departure end of the runway. The secondary collision with the terrain was actually a head-on collision with a pickup truck that resulted in fatal injuries to the driver. The aircraft was destroyed by postcrash fire, and the truck, power lines, power transformer, and fencing sustained substantial damage. The pilot and a second truck occupant received minor injuries. The pilot reported no precrash mechanical abnormalities with the aircraft. ## Factual narrative On August 19, 2001, about 1750 eastern daylight time, a Piper J-4A, N27848, registered to a private individual, operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, crashed in the vicinity of Mosheim, Tennessee, while attempting a go-around from a balked landing. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed by postcrash fire and the student pilot, the sole occupant, received minor injuries. Also damaged was a road vehicle, power lines and transformer, and fencing. Two occupants in the road vehicle received injuries, one fatal and one minor. The flight originated from a private field about 5 minutes before the accident. According to the student pilot, he departed his private grass, 800-foot airstrip to the southwest, intending to conduct landings to the northeast. That direction is favored, wind permitting, due to obstacle clearance and runway slope. His approach was high and fast as a result of a tailwind, and when he realized his touchdown would be long, he elected to perform a go-around. The aircraft collided with power wires near the departure end of the strip. The subsequent collision with the terrain was to a paved road where the aircraft collided with a pickup truck, causing fatal injuries to the vehicle driver. The pilot stated that he experienced no aircraft mechanical abnormalities or malfunctions, precrash. According to an FAA inspector, the pilot stated the surface winds at the airstrip were about 7 knots from a southwesterly direction. Postcrash examination of the aircraft wreckage revealed a power line strike mark on the right wing oriented about 45 degrees from the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, and the left wing tip showed evidence of a telephone pole strike. Following the wire strike, the aircraft's direction was skewed eastward, and terrain collision was actually head-on onto an oncoming pickup truck's hood with the left wheel strut and belly of the aircraft. The aircraft ripped through the windshield and cab of the truck, set down in the bed of the truck, knocked the tailgate off, and came to rest on the road where it burst into flames. The truck driver received fatal injuries, and the passenger received minor injuries. Two eyewitness statements were collected by the inspector, and are attachments to this report. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N27848](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N27848-2017-05-22), registration cancelled 2017-05-22, S/N 41068, built 1940 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper J-4A - Registry model: [Piper J4](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-j4) (registry code 7100602) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental A&C65 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (registry code 17003, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 4-1068 - Airframe hours: 1365 - Engines: Continental A-65 65 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Bruce Hartman - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, January 13, 2001, 27.6 hours before - Departed: TN - Destination: TN - Airport: Hartman Field, runway 04, 800 × 35 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 37; injuries: minor; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 35 total, 33 in this make and model, 15 as pilot in command, 9 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 260° at 9 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 66 °F - Altimeter: 29.88 inHg - Observed at: TRI, 32 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20010819023489A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010819023489A), Aug 19, 2001: Piper J4PIPER, Mosheim, TN, Substantial damage, 1 fatal. (-23) On August 23, 2001 I investigated an aircraft accident in Mosheim, TN. (Green county, gcy). The accident occurred on August 19, 2001 at approximately… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.