Elizabethton Municipal Airport

Facilities

Accidents and incidents

• On August 15, 2019, a Cessna Citation Latitude private jet carrying Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family was involved in a bounced landing where the airplane initially touched down on runway 24 before bouncing twice. On the third touchdown, the right main landing gear collapsed and the right wing contacted the runway. The airplane departed the paved surface beyond the runway 24 departure end threshold, through an open area of grass, down an embankment, through a chain-link fence, and up an embankment, coming to rest on the edge of Tennessee Highway 91. Pilots noted a go-around attempt failed when the aircraft failed to respond, so they decided to land the plan on the runway with less than 300 metres remaining in the runway. The crew then immediately evacuated Earnhardt, his wife Amy, daughter Isla Rose, and dog Gus. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was relieved of his duties by NBC Sports for the 2019 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race as a precaution. No passengers were seriously injured.