Anderson Andreas RANS S-6S N581TC

Summary

On 3 December 2013 at about 23:09 local time, a Anderson Andreas RANS S-6S registered N581TC was involved in an accident near Traveler's Rest, South Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 December 2013 at 23:09

Classification

Accident

Location

Traveler's Rest, South Carolina, United States

Coordinates

35.1656, -82.4397

Aircraft

Anderson Andreas RANS S-6S

Registration

N581TC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nashville → Greenville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA14CA062

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's decision to continue visual flight into deteriorating weather, which resulted in an encounter with instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent inability to maintain clearance with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he departed the Nashville, Tennessee area earlier in the day and was en route to his destination of Greenville, South Carolina at 9500 feet above mean sea level (msl). He stated that he checked the automated surface observing systems weather report and that the clouds in the Morristown, Tennessee area were reported to be at 7,000 feet above ground level. He added that he knew that he would be able to clear the mountains just below the recorded ceiling height when needed. The pilot was operating under the provisions of day visual flight rules (VFR) on top of the broken/overcast cloud layer prior to beginning the descent through the clouds. During the descent, the pilot stated that the ceiling appeared lower than reported and he elected to climb back up to VFR on top. During this process, the pilot became disoriented, hit a tree, and impacted the side of a mountain. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and empennage. The recorded ceiling and visibility at Greenville Downtown Airport, Greenville, South Carolina, about 10 nautical miles to the southeast of the accident site was an overcast ceiling at 800 feet msl and the visibility was 9 statute miles. The pilot reported that there were no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.