Amateur-built SILVER CLOUD accident near Bellaire, Michigan, August 22, 1985
On August 22, 1985, a amateur-built SILVER CLOUD, registered N210JT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bellaire, Michigan. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. 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 accident. 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
- August 22, 1985
- Place
- Bellaire, Michigan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SILVER CLOUD SILVER CLO
- Registration
- N210JT · registry record · serial 021
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED AFTER COLLIDING WITH WIRES DURING A FORCED LANDING AFTER A POWER LOSS DURING CLIMBOUT. THE PLT. BUILDER HAD RIGGED A TEMPORARY PLASTIC FUEL CONTAINER ON THE COCKPIT FLOOR BECAUSE THE MAIN WING TANKS HAD NOT BEEN INSTALLED. THIS FLOOR TANK WAS NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO GIVE GRAVITY FEED AND AS THE ACFT NOSED UP THE ENGINE WOULD TEND TO STOP OPERATING. AFTER A LOSS OF POWER THE PLT TURNED TO LAND BUT FAILED TO CLEAR A POWERLINE ENROUTE AND CRASHED IN A STEEP NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. THE PLASTIC FUEL CONTAINER RUPTURED ON IMPACT AND DRENCHED THE PLT BUT THERE WAS NO FIRE. THE PLT WAS SUSPENDED UNCONSCIOUS UPSIDE DOWN IN HIS LAP BELT & SHOULDER HARNESS AND WAS RESCUED
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: 400 hours in all; 1 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 532 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Bellaire MI
- Destination: Bellaire MI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N210JT 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.