Cessna T303 accident near Shelby, North Carolina, July 9, 1985
On July 9, 1985 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Cessna T303, registered N9718T, was destroyed in an accident near Shelby, North Carolina (Shelby Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- July 9, 1985 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Shelby, North Carolina · Shelby Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T303 · all T303s on the register
- Registration
- N9718T · no longer on the register · serial T30300039
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT STATED THAT AFTER TAKEOFF FROM RWY 23, HE NOTICED OIL COMING FROM THE LEFT ENG. HE INITIATED A TURN TO LAND ON RWY 05 BUT WAS UNABLE TO LINE UP WITH THE RWY. HE ELECTED TO GO-AROUND AND WHEN HE ADDED FULL POWER THE LEFT ENG OIL PRESSURE WENT TO ZERO PSI. THE PLT FEATHERED THE LEFT ENG AND A SINGLE ENG GO-AROUND WAS ATTEMPTED. THE LANDING GEAR AND FLAPS WERE NOT RETRACTED AND THE ACFT CRASHED 2 MILES NE OF THE ARPT AND WAS DESTROYED BY POST CRASH FIRE. THE ORIGIN OF THE OIL LEAK COULD NOT BE DETERMINED DUE TO THE EXTENT OF THE FIRE DAMAGE.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 80 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days; 2,355 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 651 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 1, 1985; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-AE (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: EHO Shelby NC at 5:25 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23, 4,300 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 12,000 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:52 pm from GSP, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.