Cessna 172N accident near Eagleville, Tennessee, May 4, 1999
On May 4, 1999 at about 7:32 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N739EW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Eagleville, Tennessee (T-Top Airfield Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The dual's student failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance from the wire during takeoff/initial climb. Also causal was the certified flight instructor's inadequate supervision.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 4, 1999 · about 7:32 pm local time
- Place
- Eagleville, Tennessee · T-Top Airfield Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N739EW · no longer on the register · serial 17270494
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While simulating a loss of engine power for a third time, the airplane was landed with an approximate 10 knot tailwind, 1/2 way down the 3,000 foot grass runway with full flaps. After touchdown, the student reset the flaps and applied full power for a go-around without delay. During the climb out, the left wing collided with an unmarked phone line about 25 feet above ground level. The right wing of the airplane then collided with a tree which separated about 8-10 feet of that wing. The airplane then descended and impacted the ground coming to rest about 135 feet from the tree impact point. The certified flight instructor stated that there was no engine, airframe, or system failure or malfunction. He also stated that he did not notice the unmarked phone line during that flight or during the previous 8-10 times he flew to that airstrip, but he did notice the trees during the climb just prior to the phone line contact. The flaps were determined to be extended approximately 5 degrees and no failure or malfunction of the flap system was noted.
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; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 7,000 hours in all; 4,000 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days; 6,800 as pilot in command; 5,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,990 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 1, 1999; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Flymasters Flying Club
The flight
- Departed from: TN14 at 7:31 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 1, 2,500 ft by 40 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:40 pm from SYI, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.