Beech 35-33 accident near Blountville, Tennessee, December 28, 1986
On December 28, 1986, a Beech 35-33, registered N210M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Blountville, Tennessee (Tri-City Regional airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 28, 1986 · cases in 1986
- Place
- Blountville, Tennessee · Tri-City Regional · cases near this airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 35-33 · all 35-33s on the register
- Registration
- N210M · registry record · serial CD-158
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG VECTORS FOR A ILS RWY 23 APCH, THE PLT ALLOWED THE ACFT TO GET 400' BELOW THE ASSIGNED ALT OF 3700'. THE CONTROLLER (CTLR) QUERIED THE PLT ABOUT HIS ALT & THE PLT REPLIED HE HAD GOTTEN A LITTLE LOW, BUT WAS RETURNING TO THE ASSIGNED ALT. AFTER INTERCEPTING THE LOCALIZER (LOC), THE PLT WAS CLRD FOR THE APCH & TOLD TO CONTACT THE TWR. AS THE ACFT WAS ON FINAL APCH, THE TWR CTLR NOTED THAT IT WAS RGT OF COURSE & ADVISED THE PLT. THE PLT ACKNOWLEDGE, BUT MOMENTS LATER, THE ELT ACTIVATED AS THE ACFT HIT TREES ON THE CROWN OF A HILL & CRASHED. INITIAL IMPACT WAS IN LVL FLT AT AN ALT OF ABOUT 1700' MSL. THE ARPT ELEV WAS 1519'. THE DECISION HEIGHT (DH) FOR THE APCH WAS 1718'. DRG THE INV, NO PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION WAS FND, CONCERNING THE ACFT OR NAV EQUIPMENT, THAT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN THE ACDNT. ABOUT 1 MIN BFR THE ACDNT, ANOTHER PLT, WHO HAD JUST COMPLETED THE APCH, RPRTD THAT HE HAD BROKEN OUT OF THE CLOUDS AT WX MINS.
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: 2,223 hours in all; 741 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 2,118 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,400 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 17, 1986; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MEM Memphis TN at 9:41 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 7,999 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N210M the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N210M on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Beechcraft 35 Bonanza and Debonair 1,077 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Beechcraft 6 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO-470-J 2 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Tri-Cities Airport · nearest airport
- Frederick W Smith Intl/Memphis Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Tennessee 1,198 since 1982 · 231 in the last ten years
- Tennessee 6,535 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N210M 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ATL87FA051.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.