Cessna 172N accident near Dothan, Alabama, December 30, 1984
On December 30, 1984 at about 5:15 am local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N6527D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dothan, Alabama (Dothan airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- December 30, 1984 · about 5:15 am local time
- Place
- Dothan, Alabama · Dothan
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N6527D · no longer on the register · serial 17272847
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT, WHO WAS ALSO AN ATC SPECIALIST ASSIGNED TO A FSS, CRASHED SHORT OF THE RWY DURING AN ATTEMPTED ILS APCH. WHE WX CONDITIONS WERE BELOW APCH MINIMUMS.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,420 hours in all; 1,100 in this make and model; 35 in the last 90 days; 1,231 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 739 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 10, 1984; 49 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MVC Monroeville AL at 4:10 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31, 8,498 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 220° at 16 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:08 am from DHN, 25 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.