Piper PA-28R-200 accident near Athens, Tennessee, October 18, 1989
On October 18, 1989 at about 11:02 pm local time, a Piper PA-28R-200, registered N5005S, was destroyed in an accident near Athens, Tennessee. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE IN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT CONDITIONS DUE TO SPATIAL DISORIENTATION, WHICH RESULTED IN AN INADVERTENT DESCENDING SPIRAL. LACK OF TOTAL EXPERIENCE IN THE TYPE OF OPERATION (ACTUAL INSTRUMENT CONDITIONS) WAS CONSIDERED TO BE A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 18, 1989 · about 11:02 pm local time
- Place
- Athens, Tennessee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28R-200 · all PA-28R-200s on the register
- Registration
- N5005S · no longer on the register · serial 28R35729
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG AN IFR FLT AT 8000' MSL IN IMC CONDS, THE PLT WAS CLEARED BY ATC TO DSCND & MAINT 4000'. HE ACKNOWLEGED. APRX 2 MIN LATER, HE WAS ADZD THAT RADAR SVC WAS TERMINATED & WAS TOLD TO CONTACT APCH CONTROL ON ANOTHER FREQ. THE PLT'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENT WAS UNINTELLIGIBLE. SUBSEQUENTLY, CONTACT WITH THE ACFT WAS LOST & IT CRASHED IN A STEEP DSCNT. BEFORE THE ACDNT, A WITNESS HEARD THE ACFT CIRCLING OVERHEAD. INITIALLY, HE WAS UNABLE TO SEE THE ACFT DUE TO CLOUDS, THEN HE SAW THE ACFT COME OUT OF THE CLOUDS IN A STEEP DIVE. HE SAID THE NOSE OF THE ACFT APPEARED TO PULL UP JUST BEFORE IMPACT. RADAR DATA SHOWED THAT THE ACFT WAS IN A SPIRALING DSCNT BEFORE IT CRASHED. THE PLT HAD JUST RCVD AN INSTRUMENT RATING ON 9/20/89. THIS WAS HIS 1ST KNOWN FLT IN ACTUAL INSTRUMENT CONDS SINCE HE HAD RCVD HIS NEW RATING. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT WAS FOUND, ALTHOUGH IT WAS BADLY DAMAGED BY IMPACT.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 435 hours in all; 202 in this make and model; 52 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 255 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,239 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 10, 1988; 178 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Delta Plus,Inc
The flight
- Departed from: MOR Morristown TN at 2:23 am
- Destination: HDI Cleveland TN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from TYS, 36 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.