On October 7, 2015, a BEECH S35 (registration N449CT) was involved in an aviation accident near Knoxville, TN. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's inadequate preflight weather planning and his improper decision to attempt a visual flight rules flight in night instrument metrological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and subsequent collision with terrain. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A Beech S35 (N449CT) crashed near Knoxville, Tennessee, on October 7, 2020, after takeoff in foggy conditions. The pilot and passenger were seriously injured. The flight was a Part 91 personal flight.
Accident Overview and Flight Details On October 7, 2020, at approximately 0530 eastern daylight time, a Beech S35, registration N449CT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Knoxville, Tennessee. The aircraft was operating as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot and passenger were both seriously injured. The flight was intended to travel from Knoxville Downtown Island Airport (DKX) to Moore-Murrell Airport (MOR) in Morristown, Tennessee. The aircraft had been fueled with 23.2 gallons of 100LL aviation gasoline the day before the accident. The pilot arrived at DKX around 0505 to preflight the aircraft. During taxi, the pilot noted that the airport's automated weather observation system (AWOS) reported a ceiling of 200 feet, which he believed was inaccurate because he could see stars. However, the passenger reported that it was dark and foggy, and he could not see the sky. The passenger did not recall being briefed on the use of the shoulder harness and was not wearing one during the flight. The pilot performed a run-up, checked the magnetos and propeller, and confirmed the flight controls were free and correct. After taking off from runway 8, the pilot raised the landing gear and checked the climb attitude and trim. The pilot stated this was the last he remembered of the flight. The passenger remembered the preflight, engine warmup, takeoff, and landing gear retraction, but had no memory of the events until being placed on a spine board at the accident scene. Around 0630, the pilot called the Morristown, Tennessee 911 communications center to report the crash. The pilot's cellular telephone was pinged, allowing first responders to locate the accident site and provide medical assistance. The airport's line service manager arrived at DKX around 0550 and reported zero visibility. At 0612, he was notified of an emergency locator transmitter signal. The fog cleared around 1000. ## Personnel and Aircraft Information The pilot held an FAA private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on October 23, 2014. He reported approximately 300 total flight hours, including 190 in the accident aircraft make and model, 129 at night, 33 in actual instrument conditions, and 26 in simulated instrument conditions. The aircraft was equipped with shoulder harnesses, but neither the pilot nor the passenger had used them. The aircraft was not required to be equipped with a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder, but it had a JP Instruments EDM-930 engine data monitor. The engine data indicated the flight duration was about 5 minutes and 54 seconds and did not reveal any preimpact engine failures or malfunctions. ## Meteorological and Wreckage Information Weather data indicated that patchy dense fog was expected in the area. At 0530, the AWOS at DKX reported calm winds, 1/4 mile visibility, overcast at 200 feet, a temperature of 14°C, a dew point of 13°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.04 inches of mercury. The AWOS had been reporting 1/4 mile visibility for at least 15 minutes prior to the 0530 report. An AIRMET advisory SIERRA for instrument flight rules conditions was active for the accident location at the time of the accident. According to an FAA inspector, after departure, the aircraft impacted trees and vegetation at an altitude of approximately 10 feet above ground level, about 600 feet from the departure end of the runway. The aircraft then impacted an open field in a level attitude with the wing flaps retracted and the landing gear up, sliding on its belly for another 500 feet before coming to rest. The wings, empennage, nose section, engine, propeller, and windscreen were substantially damaged. All four engine mounts and the firewall sustained impact damage. The trim tab was found intact and measured at 0.8 inches, correlating to 10° tab trailing edge down. Examination of the propeller, engine, fuel system, magnetos, and vacuum pump revealed no anomalies that would indicate a mechanical failure. The FAA's General Aviation Safety Enhancement Fact Sheet on Spatial Disorientation notes that pilots flying under both instrument and visual flight rules are subject to spatial disorientation and optical illusions that may cause a loss of aircraft control, especially when visibility is restricted and there is no visual reference to the horizon or surface.