Passengers “Survivors in” Plane CRASH near Chattanooga

November 19, 2024 — Cessna 172 N951JA — Chattanooga, Tennessee

The engine problem began while a flight instructor and private pilot were preparing for an instrument check-ride. After takeoff from Chattanooga, engine RPM fell. The crew reported the problem to ATC, encountered instrument meteorological conditions and eventually declared an emergency. They regained visual contact with the runway, but the aircraft was too fast to land safely. A go-around followed. The engine then lost total power, leaving a road as the remaining landing area.

The preliminary NTSB sequence follows the engine from reduced power to total failure

The November 19, 2024 accident involved Cessna 172S N951JA during an instructional flight intended to prepare a private pilot for an instrument check ride. The preliminary NTSB report states that the aircraft departed Chattanooga Airport after a preflight and engine run-up with no reported anomalies.

The preliminary report says the engine was to be examined further at a salvage facility. Because the investigation was still open, the report did not establish the mechanical reason for the power loss. That unresolved point is kept separate from the confirmed flight sequence.

The preliminary investigation contains a more detailed sequence than the first-day reports. The crew first encountered a reduction in engine RPM rather than an immediate total power loss. They entered instrument conditions, advised ATC and began the return to Chattanooga. After becoming visual with the runway, the airplane was too fast to complete the landing and the crew initiated a go-around. Total engine power was then lost above the trees, leaving the crew with a forced-landing choice. The airplane clipped trees before reaching the roadside. The NTSB had not yet determined the engine's mechanical failure mode when the preliminary report was issued.

The preliminary nature of the report matters. Early public statements described the event simply as an engine failure, but the NTSB had not yet determined why the engine lost power. The report instead provides the operational sequence that can already be established: reduced RPM, return request, emergency declaration, unstable landing attempt, go-around, total power loss and forced landing beside the road.

“The single-engine plane crashed on the side of Shallowford Road during rush hour, according to a Chattanooga Fire Department press release.”

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