Bellanca 17-31A accident near Waverly, Georgia, March 17, 1983
On March 17, 1983 at about 4:30 am local time, a Bellanca 17-31A, registered N8855V, was destroyed in an accident near Waverly, Georgia (Malcolm Mc Kinnon airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- March 17, 1983 · about 4:30 am local time
- Place
- Waverly, Georgia · Malcolm Mc Kinnon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 17-31A · all 17-31As on the register
- Registration
- N8855V · no longer on the register · serial 32-49
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED INTO TREES DURING AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH AT NIGHT IN STORMY WEATHER. BOTH THE CFI, SEATED IN THE FRONT LEFT SEAT, & THE NEW OWNER OF THE ACFT, WERE FATALLY INJURED. AN IFR FLT PLAN WAS FILED & THE CFI HAD OBTAINED 2 WX BRIEFINGS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE. THE ACFT HAD JUST RECEIVED AN ANNUAL INSPECTION AS A PART OF THE SALES CONTRACT. AT 2313 BRUNSWICK FSS ADVISED JACKSONVILLE CENTER THAT N8855V WAS CLEARED FOR APPROACH & WAS INBOUND. JACKSONVILLE GAVE FSS THE MISSED APPROACH PROCEDURES. AT 2321 FSS ADVISED JACKSONVILLE THAT COMMUNICATIONS HAD BEEN LOST. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT ALTHOUGH THE ACFT HAD RECEIVED AN ANNUAL INSPECTION ON 03-15-83, A DISCREPANCY LIST, DATED 03-16-83, FOUND IN THE ACFT SHOWED THE #2 VOR WAS UNRELIABLE; THE DIRECTIONAL GYRO PRECESSED; THE COMPASS NEEDED TO BE CALIBRATED; THE FUEL GAUGES WERE UNRELIABLE; & THE ALTERNATOR OUTPUT WAS SUSPECT IN HIGH LOAD SITUATIONS. THE ALTIMETER, PITOT STATIC SYSTEM & TRANSPONDER HAD NOT BEEN RECERTIFIED SINCE 1978. ALSO, NO RECORD OF VOR ACCURACY CHECKS WERE FOUND DURING THE INVEST.
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: 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: 5,101 hours in all; 89 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days; 4,799 as pilot in command; 2,968 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,675 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 15, 1983; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,325 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1E5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PDK Chamblee GA at 2:29 am
- Destination: SSI Saint Simons Id GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4, 5,466 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 040° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 am from SSI, 19 miles away
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.