Piper PA-32R-300 incident near Marion, Alabama, April 12, 1985
On April 12, 1985 at about 12:40 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N46PC, suffered minor damage in an incident near Marion, Alabama (Perry County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 incident. 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
- April 12, 1985 · about 12:40 pm local time
- Place
- Marion, Alabama · Perry County · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N46PC · registry record · serial 32R7680202
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
CRUISING AT 4000 FT MSL WHEN ENGINE VIBRATION OCCURRED AND BECAME SEVERE. REDUCED THROTTE BUT ROUGHNESS PERSISTED. UNABLE TO MNTN ALTITUDE WITH 2000 RPM AND 25 INCHES MAP. MADE FORCED LDG IN CORN FIELD. NOSE LDG GR COLLAPSED. ENGINE CHECKED OUT OKAY. ONE PROPELLER PIN BROKEN DUE TO FATIGUE. OPPOSITE OUTER BEARING RACE RUSTED AND BROKEN WITH FATIGUE FRACTURE. LUBRICANT WAS DRY AND CAKED ON BEARINGS AND BEARING RACE. 34 HRS SINCE 100-HR INSPECTION. 1084 HOURS SINCE PROP OVERHAUL.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,329 hours in all; 65 in this make and model; 358 in the last 90 days; 1,224 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,752 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 27, 1985; 34 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BHM Birmingham AL at 12:14 pm
- Destination: BFM Mobile AL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 16, 3,000 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 060° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:46 pm from CKL, 24 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ATL85IA132.