Cessna 172R accident near Cherokee, North Carolina, March 28, 2003
On March 28, 2003 at about 1:35 am local time, a Cessna 172R, registered N35255, was destroyed in an accident near Cherokee, North Carolina. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate terrain clearance, which resulted in an in-flight collision with mountainous terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 28, 2003 · about 1:35 am local time
- Place
- Cherokee, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172R · all 172Rs on the register
- Registration
- N35255 · no longer on the register · serial 172-81001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was receiving flight following from the Knoxville Downtown Airport Tower. The pilot requested the Automated Weather Observing System frequency and started his descent to the Knoxville Downtown Airport. At 2035, radio and radar contact was lost. At 2042, the airplane's emergency locator transmitter emergency signal was heard over the emergency frequency. Local authorities initiated a search for the missing airplane, and the downed airplane was located on March 28, 2003, at 1000 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, at Klingman's Dome, at an elevation of approximately 6,400 feet. The airframe examination revealed no evidence of mechanical anomalies. The engine examination revealed no evidence of any mechanical anomalies.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 77 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 45 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,494 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 8, 2003; 33 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CAE Columbia SC
- Destination: DKX Knoxville TN
- Flight plan: VFR
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 040° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,300 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 1:11 am from TYS, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.