Cessna 182R accident near Elizabethtown, Kentucky, August 23, 2001
On August 23, 2001 at about 8:45 pm local time, a Cessna 182R, registered N5419E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Elizabethtown, Kentucky (Addington Field Airport). It was a positioning 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 pilot's improper decision to fly the airplane with a known deficiency, and his inflight decision to land with a quartering tailwind. A factor was the wing maintenance officer's concurrence to fly the airplane with the known deficiency.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 23, 2001 · about 8:45 pm local time
- Place
- Elizabethtown, Kentucky · Addington Field Airport · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182R · all 182Rs on the register
- Registration
- N5419E · no longer on the register · serial 18268317
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) pilot elected to make a flight with an inoperative right brake. He found that the brake was inoperative during his pre-flight inspection, from a write-up left by the previous pilot. He talked to the CAP wing maintenance officer, and together they agreed that the pilot would ferry the airplane to another airport for maintenance. He departed without incident. In the landing pattern at the destination airport, the pilot elected to land with a 10-knot quartering tailwind with no flaps. He was unable to stop the airplane on the 5,000-foot runway, and it ran off the departure end. The airplane went through a ditch, and came to rest inverted in a cornfield. An aluminum brake line attached to the right side tubular steel landing gear strut had chaffed against the aluminum covering over the strut, and developed a leak near the lower end of the strut. Dried hydraulic fluid was found inside the aluminum covering. The mechanic who performed the last inspection stated that he did not normally remove the aluminum fairings which were installed over the tubular steed landing gear strut.
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, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,068 hours in all; 25 in this make and model; 53 in the last 90 days; 39 in the last 30 days; 3,445 as pilot in command; 1,675 on instruments
- Last flight review: September 12, 1999
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,672 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 29, 2001; 76.7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Teledyne Cont O-470-U24B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FTK Fort Knox KY at 7:20 pm
- Destination: EKX Elizabethtown KY
- Runway 05, 5,001 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:55 pm from EKX
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.
Other NTSB records under N5419E the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.