Plane Crash List

Sheppard S-2 N39S

30 September 2003 · Obion, Tennessee, United States · Serious injuries

Summary

On 30 September 2003 at about 22:00 local time, a Sheppard S-2 registered N39S was involved in an accident near Obion, Tennessee, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 22:00
Classification
Accident
Location
Obion, Tennessee, United States
Nearest airport
Everett-Stewart (UCY)
Coordinates
36.3211, -89.1075
Aircraft
Sheppard S-2
Registration
N39S
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Obion → Obion
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
ATL03LA151

People

1 person was seriously injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 1 0 0

Probable cause

The failure of the elevator control pushrod, that resulted in an uncontrolled descent and subsequent in-flight collision with ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, while practicing steep turns at 2500 feet, elevator control was lost. The airplane began an uncontrolled descent, and collided with the ground. Examination of the airplane revealed that the elevator control pushrod was broken. Review of the maintenance records revealed that the 1977 Sheppard S-2 airplane had accumulated a total of 1184 total airframe hours. No record of the time in service was recovered for the failed component. Efforts to obtain information from the pilot was not successful.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
16 Dec 2003 Cessna 182L
N3191R
Knoxville, Tennessee, United States - No injuries -
20 Aug 2003 Piper PA-28-140
N8496R
Winchester, Tennessee, United States - Minor injuries -
4 Oct 2003 Piper J-3-C65
N38272
Jackson, Tennessee, United States Paul W. Johnson No injuries -
8 May 2003 Bombardier CL-600-2B19
N829AS
Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. No injuries -
23 Mar 2003 Sikorsky S-61A
N81664
Kimble, Tennessee, United States - Fatal 1
5 Oct 2003 Cessna 182H
N1919X
Knoxville, Tennessee, United States Jerry L. Norton No injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States