Cessna T210L accident near Elizabethton, Tennessee, September 19, 1985
On September 19, 1985 at about 6:45 pm local time, a Cessna T210L, registered N2045S, was destroyed in an accident near Elizabethton, Tennessee (Elizabethton airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were 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
- September 19, 1985 · about 6:45 pm local time
- Place
- Elizabethton, Tennessee · Elizabethton · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210L · all T210Ls on the register
- Registration
- N2045S · no longer on the register · serial 21061012
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING A DUAL INSTRUCTIONAL FLT THE ENG STOPPED DUE TO FUEL STARVATION DURING A GO-AROUND. DURING THE ATTEMPTED RESTART, THE INSTRUCTOR FAILED TO SWITCH FUEL TANKS. THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN IN A FLD AND RAN INTO A WOODED AREA WHICH SEPARATED BOTH WINGS FROM THE ACFT STRUCTURE.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 4,846 hours in all; 585 in this make and model; 99 in the last 90 days; 53 in the last 30 days; 4,546 as pilot in command; 3,812 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 26, 1985; 325 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-H (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 6, 4,000 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:00 pm
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.