Dehavilland DHC-1 N540FM accident near Vonore, Tennessee

Probable cause

The pilot’s continued visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

NTSB analysis

On the morning of the accident, the pilot contacted a flight service station for a weather briefing for a visual flight rules (VFR) flight from Wisconsin to Georgia. The briefer told the pilot that VFR flight was not recommended from southern Kentucky through Tennessee and into north Georgia. He also stated that there was an Airmet for mountain obscuration for the same area until 1400. Toward the conclusion of the briefing, the pilot indicated that he would probably spend the night in Kentucky. The pilot flew to Indiana, refueled, and departed about 1209. When the pilot did not arrive at his destination, a search was initiated, and the wreckage was found in mountainous terrain in the Cherokee National Forest. The aircraft heading at impact was toward the northwest (his destination was to the southeast). Damage to broken trees within the wreckage debris path was indicative of a near-level aircraft attitude at impact. Although the pilot had extensive experience in the accident airplane and was an airline pilot with a major air carrier, the airplane was not equipped for flight in instrument conditions. No distress calls were received from the pilot before the accident. An examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal evidence of a preexisting mechanical malfunction or failure. Although no eyewitnesses to the accident were found, one local resident reported that the mountain tops were obscured at the time of the accident. It is likely that the pilot attempted to cross the mountains below the cloud cover and, after he realized that he could not continue in visual conditions, he attempted to exit the weather, and the airplane impacted the mountain.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA14FA163 for the full record.