N8905XCessna 182D · 1961

On March 13, 2019, about 1810 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182D, N8905X, was substantially damaged after it impacted terrain during takeoff from Transylvania Community Airport (3NR3), Brevard, North Carolina. The private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was originating at the time of the accident. The flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

According to the pilot, he completed a preflight inspection with no anomalies noted. When he boarded the airplane, the pilot seat was in its aft most position, since that was how he would typically exit the airplane. The pilot then slid the seat forward until he "could see 3 holes" in the rail, which was his typical seating position. He then "rocked the seat back and forth" to verify it was locked in position, and then proceeded to start the engine, taxi, and perform an engine runup. He then taxied onto the runway and began the takeoff roll. About 4-5 seconds into the takeoff roll, his seat slid backwards. At that point, he was unable to reach the rudder pedals, and the airplane departed the left side of the runway, nosed over, and came to rest inverted.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who responded to the accident location, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage.

According to FAA airworthiness records, the airplane was manufactured in 1961 and registered to the pilot in January 2019. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on August 18, 2018, at a total time of 4,251.8 hours. In addition, the annual inspection maintenance log entry indicated that an inspection in accordance with airworthiness directive (AD) 2011-10-09, associated with a seat rail inspection, had been completed. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulated 4,265 total hours.

In an interview with the FAA inspector, a mechanic was working on the airplane the day before the accident to replace the transponder. He stated that sometimes he does have to remove the front seats to perform the work, however, he did not have the left front seat out of the airplane during the maintenance work, he only had the right front seat out of the airplane.

An examination of the left front seat rails revealed that the housings remained engaged on the seat rails except the left forward roller housing, which was disengaged from the seat rail. The housing tangs were not worn, distorted, or splayed. The pin that engaged into the track had no anomalies, the pin spring had positive engaging forces, and the holes were slightly worn. The seat rail was not damaged along the sides of the rail; however, the top of the rail had scoring marks.

According to the airplane owner's manual, the before engine start checklist stated, "Adjust seat to a comfortable position, check to see the seat locking mechanism is secure, and fasten safety belt."