Piper PA-32RT-300 accident near Smithville, Tennessee, April 7, 1994
On April 7, 1994 at about 3:58 am local time, a Piper PA-32RT-300, registered N9710C, was destroyed in an accident near Smithville, Tennessee. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO OBTAIN RECENT WEATHER INFORMATION TO AVOID FLIGHT INTO ICING CONDITIONS. FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT WERE: MANAGEMENT-INDUCED PRESSURE AND THE ICING CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 7, 1994 · about 3:58 am local time
- Place
- Smithville, Tennessee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32RT-300 PA-32RT-30 · all PA-32RT-300s on the register
- Registration
- N9710C · no longer on the register · serial 32R-7885269
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PRIOR TO DEPARTING NASHVILLE, THE PILOT RECEIVED WEATHER INFORMATION FROM A COMMERCIAL WEATHER SERVICE AT FLIGHT OPERATIONS. THE CONTENT OF THIS BRIEFING COULD NOT BE OBTAINED. LATER, AT 1839, HE CALLED NASHVILLE AFSS FOR A WEATHER UPDATE. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED NASHVILLE FOR KNOXVILLE AT 2000. AT 2205, THE FLIGHT DEPARTED KNOXVILLE FOR THE RETURN TRIP TO NASHVILLE. THERE IS NO RECORD OF ANY WEATHER BRIEFINGS SUBSEQUENT TO THE 1839 UPDATE. AT 2238, THE PILOT REPORTED PICKING UP LIGHT ICE. FOR THE NEXT 10 MIN HE CONTINUED TO REQUEST LOWER ALTITUDES UNTIL HE WAS LOST FROM RADAR. ACCORDING TO FORMER PILOTS OF THE OPERATOR, PILOTS WERE ROUTINELY THREATENED WITH PUNITIVE ACTION FOR REFUSING TO FLY IN QUESTIONABLE WEATHER CONDITIONS, OR TO FLY AIRCRAFT WITH QUESTIONABLE AIRWORTHINESS CONDITIONS.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,631 hours in all; 1,182 in this make and model; 240 in the last 90 days; 55 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,279 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 2, 1993; 275 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1659 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Tennessee Air CORP INC.,
The flight
- Departed from: TYS Knoxville TN at 3:15 am
- Destination: BNA Nashville TN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 290° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:40 am from SRB, 25 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.