Beech A36 accident near Elizabethton, Tennessee, September 1, 2007
On September 1, 2007 at about 2:33 pm local time, a Beech A36, registered N326DK, was destroyed in an accident near Elizabethton, Tennessee (Elizabethton Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 5 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The poor in-flight planning by the pilot-in-command for flying towards rising terrain with inadequate clearance.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 1, 2007 · about 2:33 pm local time
- Place
- Elizabethton, Tennessee · Elizabethton Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech A36 · all A36s on the register
- Registration
- N326DK · no longer on the register · serial E-2377
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Beech A36 airplane was approximately 0.95 inch aft of the aft center of gravity (CG) limit at the start of the flight, which was destined for an airport approximately 20 nautical miles north-northeast of the departure airport. Mountainous terrain at an elevation of 4,321 feet mean sea level (msl) was noted between the departure and destination airports. The flight departed from runway 06, and by witness accounts the airplane became airborne 2/3 down the 4,529 foot-long runway, and was noted to be only 75 to 100 feet above ground level (agl) at a point approximately 1,500 feet past the departure end of the runway. Witnesses also reported the airplane was flying slow in a steep climb attitude with the landing gear retracted, and there was no unusual engine sounds heard. The flight continued on a northeasterly heading, where another witness located in mountainous terrain about 1 mile southwest of the crash site location noted the airplane flying only 2-3 times the height of the tree tops, or an estimated 200 to 250 feet agl. That witness reported the engine sounded like it was a larger engine, and he did not hear any missing or sputtering from it. The airplane impacted up sloping terrain during daylight hours at an elevation of 3,400 feet msl, approximately 5.38 miles northeast from the departure end of runway 06. There were no known witnesses to the crash. Impact and a postcrash fire destroyed the airplane. Examination of the airframe and flight controls revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. Examination of the engine, engine systems, and propeller also revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,924 hours in all; 47 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,736.4 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 2006; 141 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,833 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Teledyne Continental Motors IO-550-B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 0A9 Elizabethton TN at 2:29 pm
- Destination: VJ1 Abingdon VA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 06, 4,529 ft by 70 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.14 inHg
- Observation at 2:56 pm from 0A9, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.