Piper PA-23-250 accident near Elizabethton, Tennessee, April 15, 1993
On April 15, 1993 at about 2:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-23-250, registered N878D, was destroyed in an accident near Elizabethton, Tennessee (Elizabethon Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER ON ONE ENGINE FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 15, 1993 · about 2:00 pm local time
- Place
- Elizabethton, Tennessee · Elizabethon Municipal
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23-250 · all PA-23-250s on the register
- Registration
- N878D · no longer on the register · serial 27-7754099
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT, THE LEFT ENGINE BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH. THE ENGINE ALSO DEVELOPED AN UNUSUAL SMELL AND THE CYLINDER HEAD TEMP WAS HIGH. AFTER EVALUATING THE SITUATION, THE PILOT SHUT DOWN THE LEFT ENGINE, CHANGED HIS DESTINATION AIRPORT AND ELECTED TO CONTINUE THE FLIGHT TO A MORE SUITABLE AIRPORT FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING. AS THE FLIGHT CONTINUED, ALTITUDE BECAME MORE DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN. THE AIRPLANE CRASHED SHORT OF THE AIRPORT AND BURST INTO FLAMES; THE PILOT ESCAPED FROM THE WRECKAGE BEFORE THE AIRPLANE WAS COMPLETELY ENGULFED. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE FAILED TO DISCLOSE A MECHANICAL PROBLEM, BECAUSE THE ENTIRE AIRFRAME WAS CONSUMED BY FIRE.
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; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,304 hours in all; 792 in this make and model; 37 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 2,176 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,684 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 31, 1993; 49 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 C485 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: MOR Morristown TN at 2:00 pm
- Destination: 0A4 Johnson City TN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 6, 4,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 14,000 ft; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:00 pm from OA9, 1 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.