Cessna 170B accident near Knoxville, Tennessee, August 25, 2025
On August 25, 2025 at about 9:50 pm local time, a 1953 Cessna 170B, registered N4584C, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Knoxville, Tennessee (Wayne County 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 failure to maintain directional control during landing roll in a crosswind, which resulted in a runway excursion and a subsequent ground loop.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 25, 2025 · about 9:50 pm local time
- Place
- Knoxville, Tennessee · Wayne County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 170B, built 1953 · all 170Bs on the register
- Registration
- N4584C · registry record · serial 25528
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane approached the destination airport, and while in the traffic pattern there, the airplane encountered a crosswind. During the base-to-final turn, he was dissatisfied with the airplane’s altitude and performed a go-around. On the subsequent approach, he used rudder inputs to maintain alignment with the runway centerline. After touchdown, the airplane drifted right, and as it decelerated, he applied right rudder but was unable to maintain directional control. The airplane veered off the left side of the runway and ground-looped, coming to rest on the adjacent terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wingtip and aileron. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
What happened, in order
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Runway excursion during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Crosswind › Response/compensation
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 729 hours in all; 32 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 595 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 23, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 2, 2025; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300 (piston); 635 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 4O1 Waynesville OH at 7:50 pm
- Destination: EKQ Monticello KY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 03, 4,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 pm from EKQ, 12 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KEKQ 252156Z AUTO 30009KT 10SM SCT060 23/11 A3010 RMK AO2 SLP187 T02330106 PNO $=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 3 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – View of airplane off side of runway 03.
Photograph 2 – View of underside of right wing bent tip.
Photograph 3 – View of topside of right wing bent tip.The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
4 documents, released by the NTSB on November 20, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Memorandum for Record - FAA Inspector's Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Crosswind Calculation | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Investigation Photos | PDF, 4 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.