Cessna 180 accident near Oxford, Alabama, April 10, 2003
On April 10, 2003 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Cessna 180, registered N3166D, was destroyed in an accident near Oxford, Alabama. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's continued VFR flight into IMC conditions and his failure to maintain obstacle clearance. A factor was low ceilings.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 10, 2003 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Oxford, Alabama · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180 · all 180s on the register
- Registration
- N3166D · no longer on the register · serial 31964
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the Macon Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), the private pilot called in to get a weather briefing on the conditions from Thomasville, Georgia, to Detroit, Michigan. The pilot informed Macon AFSS that he was aware of the "swirling mess" and wondered how far west he would have to fly in order to avoid it. At 1438, the Macon AFSS advised the pilot that the lowest cloud conditions between Thomasville, Georgia, and Gadsden, Alabama were twelve hundred feet, and that the observation was twenty-three minutes old. The current observation showed that the weather conditions were beginning to deteriorate and that the ceiling dropped two hundred feet. A witness reported, on April 10, 2003 between 1630 and 1700 central standard time, a high wing; tail wheel type airplane flew over their home. The witness recalled the weather consisted of low clouds, rain and fog. There were several pilot reports recorded within a 60-mile radius surrounding the time of the accident. All of the reports were identified with pilot's operating under instrument flight rules. The pilot reports were consistent with the base of the overcast layer at 1,500 feel mean sea level with varying tops from 5500 feet west over Birmingham to 11,500 feet west of Atlanta. On April 11, 2003, at 1045 CST, a hiker in the Cheaha State Park discovered the wreckage of the downed airplane along a hiking trail at approximately the 1800 foot level of Hernandez Peak. Local authorities found the private pilot was seated in the right front seat, and the student pilot seated in the left front seat.
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
- Last flight review: May 15, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 744 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 1, 2002; 201 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TVI Thomasville GA at 7:30 pm
- Destination: AL48 Thomasville AL
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.82 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from ANB, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N3166D the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.