Plane Crash at Waterrock Knob

This nearly 40-year-old plane wreckage is located near the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. A moderately difficult two-mile round trip hike from the Waterrock Knob Visitor Center and trailhead in Sylva, North Carolina lead to the wreckage. 

The trail begins at the Waterrock Knob Visitor Center and continues for a quarter mile up a well-marked, paved path to an observation point of the valley below. The trail turns to dirt and continues for another quarter mile until Waterrock Knob.

After traversing a few other trails, visitors will come upon the wreckage of a Cessna 414A which crashed in 1983. Pilot error, poor weather conditions, and other fatal mistakes all played a role in the crash that claimed both lives on board.

Due to the rugged terrain of the region, only the engines were salvageable. The rest of the aircraft was left on the mountainside.

Update as of August 2023: The plane has been removed.