Cessna 172M accident near Rabun Gap, Georgia, October 24, 1997
On October 24, 1997 at about 1:42 pm local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N1499U, was destroyed in an accident near Rabun Gap, Georgia. 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's continued flight under visual flight rules into known instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain a safe altitude for terrain clearance resulting in the aircraft colliding with trees and the ground on the side of a mountain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 24, 1997 · about 1:42 pm local time
- Place
- Rabun Gap, Georgia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N1499U · registry record · serial 17267166
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot received a weather briefing, which showed instrument flight rules conditions were present along the route of flight near the destination. An enroute stop was made about 57 miles south of the destination and a special VFR clearance was received to land at the airport due to instrument meteorological conditions. The flight departed for the destination after receiving another special VFR clearance, and after frequency change was approved, no further transmissions were received from the flight. The aircraft wreckage was found at the 4,400-foot msl level on a 4,600-foot msl mountain, 15 miles southeast of the destination. The aircraft had collided with trees while on a northerly heading, in a level attitude, causing separation of the outboard wings. Postcrash examination of the aircraft, flight controls, and engine showed no evidence of precrash failure or malfunction. At the time of the accident, the weather reporting stations around the crash site were showing broken to overcast ceilings between 3,800 and 4,200 feet msl with visibilities 1.5-5 miles in mist and light rain.
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: 1,695 hours in all; 19 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 1,607 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,186 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 5, 1997; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: AHN Athens GA at 1:09 pm
- Destination: 1A5 Franklin NC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 1.5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from AHN, 55 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA98FA015.