Fairchild SA227-TT accident near Blountville, Tennessee, April 2, 1993
On April 2, 1993 at about 2:28 am local time, a Fairchild SA227-TT, registered N500AK, was destroyed in an accident near Blountville, Tennessee (Tri-City Regional airport). It was an executive or corporate flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO FOLLOW PROCEDURES CONCERNING USE OF THE ENGINE INLET ANTI-ICE SYSTEM AND/OR CONTINUOUS IGNITION WHILE OPERATING IN ICING CONDITIONS, WHICH RESULTED IN PROBABLE ICE INGESTION AND LOSS OF ENGINE POWER; AND THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT AIRSPEED WHILE COPING WITH THE ENGINE PROBLEM, WHICH RESULTED IN A STALL. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS, ICING CONDITIONS, AND ENGINE INLET (NACELLE) ICE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 2, 1993 · about 2:28 am local time
- Place
- Blountville, Tennessee · Tri-City Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild SA227-TT · all SA227-TTs on the register
- Registration
- N500AK · registry record · serial TT-527
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Executive or corporate flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
N500AK ENCOUNTERED ICING IN FLIGHT BEFORE START OF ILS APPROACH. RADAR DATA SHOWED THAT BEFORE REACHING OUTER MARKER, IT SLOWED IN A MANNER THAT WAS CONSISTENT WITH A POWER REDUCTION (OR PARTIAL LOSS OF POWER), THEN IT ENTERED A STEEP DESCENT & CRASHED. EXAMINATION REVEALED ENGINES WERE NOT OPERATING AT IMPACT & THAT PROPELLERS HAD BEEN FEATHERED. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF ENGINES, PROPELLERS OR ANTI-ICE SYSTEM WAS FOUND. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT ENGINE INLET ANTI-ICE ANNUNCIATOR LIGHTS & STABILITY AUGMENTATION SYSTEM (SAS) FAULT WARNING LIGHT WERE ILLUMINATED DURING IMPACT. THE ENGINE MANUFACTURER REPORTED THAT FLAMEOUTS HAD OCCURRED IN OTHER AIRCRAFT, DURING OR FOLLOWING OPERATION IN ICING CONDITIONS, SOMETIMES AFTER DESCENT INTO WARMER AIR. FLIGHT MANUAL NOTED THAT IF ICING WAS ENCOUNTERED WITH ANTI-ICE SYSTEM OFF, SELECT CONTINUOUS IGNITION & THEN SELECT ENGINE & PROPELLER HEAT (1 ENGINE AT A TIME, ENSURING FIRST ENGINE WAS OPERATING SATISFACTORILY BEFORE SELECTING SECOND ENGINE) & ENGAGE SAS HEAT.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,105 hours in all; 235 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,294 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 7, 1992; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 13,230 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE331-10U513 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: TYS Knoxville TN at 2:00 am
- Destination: TRI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 7,999 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 250° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:45 am from TRI, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.