Piper PA-28-150 accident near Cashiers, North Carolina, December 14, 2002
On December 14, 2002 at about 4:33 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-150, registered N5899W, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cashiers, North Carolina. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision by which he conducted visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain terrain clearance. Contributing factors were a low ceiling and mountainous terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 14, 2002 · about 4:33 pm local time
- Place
- Cashiers, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-150 · all PA-28-150s on the register
- Registration
- N5899W · no longer on the register · serial 28-2709
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said he had just climbed to 9,000 feet, about 30 miles from Greenville, South Carolina, he saw the city in the distance. He said that after checking the automated terminal information service and noting that the cloud cover was reported as 5,000 feet scattered at the Greenville, South Carolina airport, he told the FAA Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center controller, who had been providing him with visual flight rules flight following service, that he would be initiating his descent in visual meteorological conditions. He said that was the last thing he remembered prior to the accident. According to the FAA inspector who responded to the scene of the accident, the airplane impacted snow covered White Side Mountain, near Cashiers, North Carolina, at about the 4,200-foot level.
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
- Flight time: 278 hours in all; 93 in this make and model; 41 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 278 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 16, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,570 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 10, 2002; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Textron Lycoming O-320-E2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BNA Nashville TN at 3:00 pm
- Destination: GMU Greenville SC
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 12 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,100 ft; clear
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 32°F (0°C)
- Altimeter: 29.79 inHg
- Observation at 3:54 pm from AVL, 35 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.