Probable cause
The pilot’s intentional flight into a building as an act of suicide.
NTSB analysis
The pilot departed from a private airstrip and overflew his property. The airplane subsequently impacted a barn adjacent to the airstrip. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the fuselage was mostly consumed by the postimpact fire that ensued. The pilot was fatally injured. An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the William L. Jenkins Forensic Center, Johnson City, Tennessee. The autopsy report listed the cause of death as blunt force injuries and the manner of death as suicide.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA24LA346 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Aug 16, 2024
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Mooresburg, Tennessee
- Nearest airport
- Pvt
- Highest injury
- Fatal
- Fatal injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Piper J3
- N-number
- N21811
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1938
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.