Piper PA-38-112 accident near Spring City, Tennessee, August 19, 1985
On August 19, 1985 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-38-112, registered N23376, was substantially damaged in an accident near Spring City, Tennessee. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- August 19, 1985 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Spring City, Tennessee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-38-112 · all PA-38-112s on the register
- Registration
- N23376 · no longer on the register · serial 38-81A0116
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE STUDENT WAS ON A SOLO CROSS-COUNTRY TRAINING FLIGHT WHEN THE ENGINE LOST TOTAL POWER WITHOUT WARNING. THE PLT MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN A FIELD AND DURNING THE LANDING THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH TREES AND WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. POST CRASH EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT AIR WAS BEING DRAWN INTO THE SYSTEM THROUGH THE GASCOLATOR O-RING SEAL.
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: student
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 38 hours in all; 38 in this make and model; 9 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 848 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Volunteer Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: TYS Knoxville TN at 7:45 pm
- Destination: CJE Cookeville TN
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:52 pm from CSV, 15 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.