Cessna 172SP accident near Austell, Georgia, January 19, 2001
On January 19, 2001 at about 4:07 am local time, a Cessna 172SP, registered N43PD, was destroyed in an accident near Austell, Georgia (Fulton County airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilots failure to follow instrument flight procedures and descended below the published the minimum descent altitude and subsequently collided with trees short of the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 19, 2001 · about 4:07 am local time
- Place
- Austell, Georgia · Fulton County · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172SP · all 172SPs on the register
- Registration
- N43PD · no longer on the register · serial 172S8505
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the CFI , he and his dual student were conducting instrument training. Upon establishing radio contact with approach control, the pilots were given current weather, and they were told that the glide slope for runway 8 was inoperative. While on a two mile final approach, the pilot reported that, the vertical speed indicator (VSI) abruptly showed a climb and then a descent while airspeed increased. The pilot selected the alternate static source and initiated a go-around. The airplane collided with trees two miles west of the airport. Weather minimums for the ILS rwy 8 (S-LOC ) are 800 feet with 3/4 mile visibility. The recorded weather at the airport at the time of the accident was 300 feet overcast with 2 miles visibility. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the pitot static system sustained impact and fire damage. The wreckage examination also revealed that the engine had also sustained fire damage.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,700 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 3,200 as pilot in command; 900 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 30, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: minor injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: private, student
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 284 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 12, 2000; 87 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Fulton Flight Services Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: CHA Chattanooga TN at 3:00 am
- Destination: FTY Austell GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 08, 5,796 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 080° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.93 inHg
- Observation at 9:00 am from FTY, 3 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.