Piper PA-31-350 accident near Brevard, North Carolina, November 12, 1982
On November 12, 1982 at about 10:14 am local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N59771, was destroyed in an accident near Brevard, North Carolina. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. 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
- November 12, 1982 · about 10:14 am local time
- Place
- Brevard, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N59771 · no longer on the register · serial 31-7652041
- 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
AFTER A MISSED APPROACH AT ASHEVILLE THE FLT WAS CLEARED TO THE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG ARPT AT GREER,SC. ENROUTE TO GREER RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST. IN RESPONSE TO A QUERY FROM ATLANTA ARTCC THE PLT VERIFIED HIS POSITION AS BEING ON THE 235 DEG RADIAL OF SPARTANBURG VOR & 11.9 MI SW. HE WAS THEN CLEARED TO DESCEND TO 2700 FT & EXECUTE AN ILS APCH. THE ACFT IMPACTED A MOUNTAIN AT THE 3200 FT LEVEL. THE WRECKAGE WAS FOUND ON THE 235 DEG RADIAL OF THE SUGARLOAF MOUNTAIN VORTAC & AT 24 MI. REVIEW OF THE ACFT'S LOGBOOK REVEALED THAT MECHANICAL IRREGULARITIES REPORTED WERE NOT CORRECTED FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME. NO CORRECTIVE ACTION WAS LISTED FOR AN "OUTER MARKER INOP AURAL & VISUAL (NEEDS TO BE FIXED NOW, SINCE ADF IS ALSO INOP)." & "LIGHT IN #2 VOR HEAD OUT.". THE MARKER BEACON WAS DESCRIBED AS INOPERATIVE ON 3 DATES BEGINNING 8/22/81, & THE ADF WAS DESCRIBED AS INOPERATIVE ON 7 DATES BEGINNING 5/8/81. NO CORRECTIVE ACTION WAS LISTED FOR ANY ENTRY ABOUT THE MARKER BEACON OR ADF.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,300 hours in all; 900 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,131 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 65 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hill-Williford Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: CMH Columbus OH at 2:43 am
- Destination: AVL Asheville NC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 180° at 17 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 136°F (58°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:47 am from AVL, 19 miles away
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.
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.