Cessna T303 accident near Senoia, Georgia, August 26, 1996
On August 26, 1996 at about 3:20 pm local time, a Cessna T303, registered N420FC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Senoia, Georgia (Big 'T' airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning to ascertain the conditions of the runway. Factors were the wet, grass runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 26, 1996 · about 3:20 pm local time · cases in 1996
- Place
- Senoia, Georgia · Big 'T' · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T303 · all T303s on the register
- Registration
- N420FC · no longer on the register · serial T30300136
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot had landed at a divert field after holding above an undercast for about one hour. He fueled the airplane and obtained a verbal briefing regarding the weather at the destination. The private destination airport had a sod runway, 2050 feet long. The morning fog had left the runway wet. According to the pilot, the braking action was insufficient to stop the airplane when he landed. The airplane ran off the runway into an adjacent ditch.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,824 hours in all; 1,143 in this make and model; 27 in the last 90 days; 27 in the last 30 days; 1,768 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,444 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 6, 1996; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,150 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-AE2 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FFC Peachtree City GA at 3:10 pm
- Destination: 64GA GA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16, 2,050 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 700 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from FFC, 5 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N420FC: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Cessna T303 60 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,677 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-AE2 4,110 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Big 'T' Airport · nearest airport
- Atlanta Regional Falcon Field · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Georgia 2,138 since 1982 · 361 in the last ten years
- Georgia 8,801 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ATL96LA125.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.