Cirrus Design Corp. SR22 accident near Sylva, North Carolina, December 29, 2005
On December 29, 2005 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Cirrus Design Corp. SR22, registered N799TM, was destroyed in an accident near Sylva, North Carolina (Jackson County airport). 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 resulting in a 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
- December 29, 2005 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Sylva, North Carolina · Jackson County
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cirrus Design Corp. SR22
- Registration
- N799TM · no longer on the register · serial 0817
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft collided with trees and terrain after encountering forecasted instrument meteorological conditions. About 30 minutes before the accident the pilot N799TM contacted the FAA Gainesville, Georgia, Flight Service Station (FSS), requested to file an instrument flight plan, and received a weather briefing for a flight from the Jackson County Airport in Sylva, North Carolina, to Pensacola, Florida. The Gainesville FSS briefer informed the pilot of the current weather conditions, and referenced a flight precaution for mountain obscuration throughout the day. The pilot stated to the briefer that he was looking through a hole right now, and was pretty sure he could stay VFR. The pilot also informed the briefer "he could see the top of the clouds, and see a little bit of the blue". The briefer also informed the pilot of a flight precaution for moderate turbulence below ten thousand feet. The pilot stated, "that he would be looking for it". Prior to departing, the pilot inquired as to how to activate an IFR flight plan once he departed. The briefer informed the pilot he could open the IFR flight plan once airborne. There were no further communications with the airplane once airborne. Witnesses in the vicinity of the accident site reported hearing an airplane flying low in a southerly direction. The sound of the engine faded away, and then "rev-up" followed by the sound of trees breaking with a loud "thump". The witnesses stated "that you could not see more that 50-feet in front of you", and that it was very foggy. A search team was dispatched and was unable to locate the airplane due to inclement weather conditions in the area. The airplane was located the following day on the side of the Savannah Ridge Mountain at an elevation of 4,400 feet, 5 miles south of the Jackson County Airport. Post accident examination of the airframe, flight controls, engine assembly, and accessories revealed no 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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 782 hours in all; 227 in this make and model; 755 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 236.1 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 1, 2005; 144 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-550N (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 24A Sylva NC at 5:50 pm
- Destination: PNS Pensacola FL
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 14 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 32°F (0°C)
- Altimeter: 29.64 inHg
- Observation at 6:54 pm from AVL, 33 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.