Beech 58TC accident near Knoxville, Tennessee, November 27, 1983
On November 27, 1983 at about 6:30 am local time, a Beech 58TC, registered N2131L, was destroyed in an accident near Knoxville, Tennessee (Knoxville Downtown Island airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were killed and 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 27, 1983 · about 6:30 am local time
- Place
- Knoxville, Tennessee · Knoxville Downtown Island · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed and 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Beech 58TC · all 58TCs on the register
- Registration
- N2131L · no longer on the register · serial TK-38
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING ARRIVAL, THE PLT CHECKED IN WITH KNOXVILLE APCH CONTROL & STATED THAT HE WAS PROCEEDING TO THE DOWNTOWN ARPT FOR LANDING. AT THAT TIME, THE WX AT MCGHEE-TYSON ARPT (APRX 10 MI SSW) WAS CLEAR WITH 7 MI VISIBILITY. ABOUT 10 MIN LATER, THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE WAS ENCOUNTERING FOG IN THE VICINITY OF THE DOWNTOWN ARPT & 'MIGHT HAVE TO GO OVER TO MCGHEE-TYSON TO LAND.' A FEW MIN LATER, HE REPORTED THAT HE HAD EXECUTED A MISSED APCH FROM RWY 26 DUE TO FOG, BUT THAT HE SAW SOME LIGHTS & WAS GOING TO TRY TO LAND ON RWY 8. HE MADE A PROCEDURE TURN TO ALIGN THE ACFT TO THAT RWY. DURING THE 2ND APCH, HE ENCOUNTERED FOG AGAIN & INITIATED A GO-AROUND. SHORTLY AFTER THAT, THE LEFT WING HIT TREES & THE ACFT CRASHED IN THE RIVER NEXT TO THE ARPT. RESCUE PERSONNEL REPORTED THAT THE FOG WAS SO THICK THAT THEY HAD TROUBLE FINDING THEIR WAY ACROSS THE FIELD TO LOCATE THE WRECKAGE. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THE LEFT WING BEGAN BURNING AFTER IT COLLIDED WITH THE TREES. THE TREES WERE LOCATED ALONG THE RIVER BANK NORTH OF RWY 8.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,700 hours in all; 155 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,102 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 4, 1983; 157 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,100 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-L (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: FTY Atlanta GA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 8, 3,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 060° at 4 knots
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 am from TYS, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 | 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.
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.