Grumman AG-CAT-G-114 accident near Madisonville, Tennessee, March 2, 1985
On March 2, 1985 at about 9:54 pm local time, a Grumman AG-CAT-G-114, registered N4654, was destroyed in an accident near Madisonville, Tennessee. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- March 2, 1985 · about 9:54 pm local time
- Place
- Madisonville, Tennessee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman AG-CAT-G-114 AG-CAT-G-1
- Registration
- N4654 · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED IN AN OPEN PASTURE AFTER LOSS OF POWER FOLLOWING A TAKEOFF FROM AN ADJACENT PASTURE. THE ACFT HAD EXPEREINCED A POWER LOSS A FEW MINUTES EARLIER WHICH HAD FORCED THE PLT TO MAKE AN EMERGENGY LNDG. AFTER GRND CHECKING THE POWERPLANT THE PLT DECIDED TO MAKE A 2ND ATTEMPT AT FLYING. THE 2ND TAKEOFF RESULTED IN A PWR LOSS AND THE 2ND FORCED LNDG ENDED IN AN ACCIDENT. THE PLT REPORTED AFTER THE ACCIDENT THAT MISSING ENG PROBLEMS HAD OCCURED ON OTHER OCCASIONS PRIOR TO THE MALFUNCTIONS ON THIS DAY. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENG BY FIRE FOLLOWING THE CRASH PRECLUDED A COMPLETE ENG EXAM TO FIRMLY ESTABLISH A REASON FOR THE ENG MALFUNCTIONS. THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE'DUMPED' THE ACFT DURING LNDG INTO A FENCE TO AVOID HITTING PEOPLE ON AN ADJACENT GOLF COURSE. HE ALSO SAID HE SHOULD HAVE DUMPED THE'AG'LOAD & STOPPED TO THINK BEFORE A TAKEOFF OF THIS NATURE. THE ENG HAD ONLY OPERATED 20 FLT HRS SINCE INSPECTION.
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: 4,000 hours in all; 250 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 3,950 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 10, 1984; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,200 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Dixie Dusters,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: MNV Madisonville TN at 9:48 pm
- Destination: MNV Madisonville TN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N4654 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.