William Sargent LANCAIR 235 N813Y

Summary

On 17 April 1998 at about 20:00 local time, a William Sargent LANCAIR 235 registered N813Y was involved in an accident near Newport, Tennessee, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 April 1998 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Newport, Tennessee, United States

Coordinates

35.9594, -83.1894

Aircraft

William Sargent LANCAIR 235

Registration

N813Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Port Huron → Lakeland

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

Unk

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL98FA063

2 people died.

The pilot's attempt to operate in instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain clearance with the surrounding terrain. Contributing factors were clouds and the mountainous/hilly terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The circumstances of the flight and of the accident are not known. On the afternoon of April 18, 1998, the Rescue Coordination Center received an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) signal from the vicinity of the accident site. A search conducted by the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and local authorities located the aircraft wreckage on the morning of April 19, 1998. According to local authorities, at the approximate time of the ELT signal, low clouds obscured the tops of the mountains in the immediate vicinity of the accident site (3,100 feet above mean sea level). A search of FAA records failed to show that the pilot had received a preflight weather briefing. An examination of the accident site disclosed that the airplane was broken into three pieces and the wreckage path was orientated on a 170-degree magnetic heading. Aircraft wreckage debris was scattered over an area about 150 feet long and 50 feet wide. The airplane wreckage rested on a steep mountain ridge with near vertical drop-offs on both sides of the ridge. The wreckage was never removed from the accident site.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.