Amateur-built LANCAIR 235 accident near Newport, Tennessee, April 17, 1998
On April 17, 1998 at about 8:00 pm local time, a amateur-built LANCAIR 235, registered N813Y, was destroyed in an accident near Newport, Tennessee. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's attempt to operate in instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain clearance with the surrounding terrain. Contributing factors were clouds and the mountainous/hilly terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 17, 1998 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Newport, Tennessee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built LANCAIR 235 LANCAIR 23
- Registration
- N813Y · no longer on the register · serial 85
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The circumstances of the flight and of the accident are not known. On the afternoon of April 18, 1998, the Rescue Coordination Center received an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) signal from the vicinity of the accident site. A search conducted by the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and local authorities located the aircraft wreckage on the morning of April 19, 1998. According to local authorities, at the approximate time of the ELT signal, low clouds obscured the tops of the mountains in the immediate vicinity of the accident site (3,100 feet above mean sea level). A search of FAA records failed to show that the pilot had received a preflight weather briefing. An examination of the accident site disclosed that the airplane was broken into three pieces and the wreckage path was orientated on a 170-degree magnetic heading. Aircraft wreckage debris was scattered over an area about 150 feet long and 50 feet wide. The airplane wreckage rested on a steep mountain ridge with near vertical drop-offs on both sides of the ridge. The wreckage was never removed from the accident site.
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
- Flight time: 1,060 hours in all; 390 in this make and model; 4 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 1,013 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 700 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 10, 1997; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,700 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PHN Port Huron MI at 12:32 pm
- Destination: LAL Lakeland FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:00 pm from TYS, 43 miles away
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.
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.