Piper PA-34-200T accident near Charleston, South Carolina, October 18, 1985
On October 18, 1985 at about 1:09 pm local time, a Piper PA-34-200T, registered N1944H, was destroyed in an accident near Charleston, South Carolina. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was 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
- October 18, 1985 · about 1:09 pm local time
- Place
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-34-200T · all PA-34-200Ts on the register
- Registration
- N1944H · registry record · serial 34-770159
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED ON RADAR AS IT APPROACHED THE JOINT CIVIL - MILITARY AIRPORT. IT PASSED OVER NEAR THE CENTER OF THE AIRPORT AT ABOUT 200 FEET AGL. THERE WAS NO REPORTED COMMUNICATION WITH THE AIRCRAFT. SEVERAL SIGHTING PLACED THE AIRCRAFT UNDER AT LEAST ONE BRIDGE AS IT BUZZED SEVERAL SHIPS AND TUGS. THE AIRCRAFT ALSO FLEW LOW OVER A SECTION OF THE BASE WHERE THE PILOT HAD FORMERLY WORKED AND HE DROPPED OUT AT LEAST ONE FLARE. THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED AS IT LINED UP ON THE ABANDONED FUEL STORAGE TANK AND CRASHED INTO THE SIDE OF IT. BOTH ENGINES WERE RUNNING AND THERE WAS NO KNOWN OR REPORTED PROBLEM WITH THE AIRCRAFT. RULED A SUICIDE BY THE MED EXAMINER.
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, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,077 hours in all; 941 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,641 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 12, 1984; 200 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TS10-360-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Goldsboro-Wayne Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: GWW Goldsboro NC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:50 pm from CHS, 7 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.