Cessna 172N accident near Lima, South Carolina, November 8, 1998
On November 8, 1998 at about 9:40 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N4696G, was destroyed in an accident near Lima, South Carolina. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's intentional flight into Instrument Meteorological Conditions. Factors were trees and mountainous terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 8, 1998 · about 9:40 pm local time
- Place
- Lima, South Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N4696G · no longer on the register · serial 17273322
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was at the controls of the airplane while navigating between mountains following a major highway. Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) were encountered and the flight instructor took over as Pilot-In-Command. A climb was initiated through IMC, on course, in order to attain Visual Meteorological Conditions above the lowered ceiling and mountainous terrain. Shortly after initiating the climb, the airplane collided with trees and mountainous terrain.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 10,000 as pilot in command; 5,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 0A7 Hendersonville NC at 9:30 pm
- Destination: GMU Greenville SC
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 240° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,800 ft; scat at 1,600 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:55 pm from GSP, 14 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.
Other NTSB records under N4696G 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.