Cessna 172B incident near Elizabethton, Tennessee, March 14, 1988
On March 14, 1988 at about 10:30 am local time, a Cessna 172B, registered N7609X, suffered minor damage in an incident near Elizabethton, Tennessee (Elizabethton Muni airport). 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 incident. 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
- March 14, 1988 · about 10:30 am local time
- Place
- Elizabethton, Tennessee · Elizabethton Muni · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172B · all 172Bs on the register
- Registration
- N7609X · no longer on the register · serial 17248109
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DUE TO A LOW CHARGE IN THE BATTERY, THE PLT ELECTED TO START THE ENG BY HAND PROPPING, SO HE COULD PROGRAM THE LORAN FOR A LATER FLT. HE BEGAN HAND PROPPING WITH THE TAIL & LEFT WING TIED DOWN. AFTER THE ENG STARTED, THE TIEDOWN FOR THE TAIL PULLED LOOSE & THE ACFT MOVED AROUND THE LEFT WING TIEDOWN. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT HIT A NEARBY FLOATPLANE.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 900 hours in all; 260 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 780 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None (expired)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,670 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 15, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: HLX Galax VA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 240° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:51 am from TRI, 10 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.
Other NTSB records under N7609X the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.