Grumman G-159 accident near Blountville, Tennessee, July 16, 1983
On July 16, 1983 at about 2:08 am local time, a Grumman G-159, registered N68TG, was destroyed in an accident near Blountville, Tennessee (Tri-City airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people had minor injuries. 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
- July 16, 1983 · about 2:08 am local time
- Place
- Blountville, Tennessee · Tri-City
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman G-159
- Registration
- N68TG · registry record · serial 068
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE COPLT STATED THAT WHEN HE BEGAN THE APCH TO THE DESTINATION ARPT, THE WEATHER CONDITION WAS HAZY & HE DELAYED HIS DESCENT SLIGHTLY UNTIL HE LOCATED THE ARPT. WHEN HE SAW THE RWY, HE BELIEVED THAT THEY WERE A LITTLE TOO CLOSE, SO HE INDICATED TO THE CAPTAIN THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A 360 DEG TURN. AT THAT POINT, THE CAPTAIN ASSUMED CONTROL OF THE ACFT & CONTINUED THE APCH TO RWY 4. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWNED LONG. ACCORDING TO THE CAPTAIN, HE TRIED SEVERAL APPLICATIONS OF THE NORMAL BRAKING SYS, BUT GOT NO RESPONSE. HE THEN TRIED THE EMERGENCY BRAKES & ASKED THE COPLT TO GET ON THE BRAKES, BUT REPORTED THERE WAS NO BRAKING. SUBSEQUENTLY THE ACFT WENT OFF THE END OF THE RWY, WENT OVER AN EMBANKMENT & HIT A FENCE. IT CAME TO REST ON A 2ND EMBANKMENT WHERE IT EXPLODED & BURNED. TIRE MARKS WITH EVIDENCE OF BRAKING ACTION WERE FOUND STARTING 2377 FT BEYOND THE RWY THRESHOLD. A REQUIRED FIELD LENGTH OF APRX 2600 FT WAS CALCULATED FOR LNDG. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. VASI LIGHTS WERE INOP.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,927 hours in all; 427 in this make and model; 164 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 3,782 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,759 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme; 107 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 36,000 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce RD27/529-8E (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Orion Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: TYS Knoxville TN at 12:35 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4, 6,599 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 180° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.