Controlled Flight Into Terrain · NTSB ERA24LA346
PIPER J3 — Mooresburg, TN
| Date | August 16, 2024 |
| Location | Mooresburg, TN |
| Aircraft | PIPER J3 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Maneuvering Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 60 |
| Pilot total time | 24 hrs · Student / very low time |
| Time in type | 24 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot’s intentional flight into a building as an act of suicide.
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Miscellaneous-Intentional act-Suicide-Pilot
What happened
The pilot departed from a private airstrip and overflew his property. The airplane subsequently impacted a barn adjacent to the airstrip. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the fuselage was mostly consumed by the postimpact fire that ensued. The pilot was fatally injured. An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the William L. Jenkins Forensic Center, Johnson City, Tennessee. The autopsy report listed the cause of death as blunt force injuries and the manner of death as suicide.