Piper PA-34-220T accident near Ocilla, Georgia, October 31, 1985
On October 31, 1985 at about 1:30 am local time, a Piper PA-34-220T, registered N8401E, was destroyed in an accident near Ocilla, Georgia (Fitzgerald Municipal airport). It was an executive or corporate flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries. 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 31, 1985 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- Ocilla, Georgia · Fitzgerald Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-34-220T · all PA-34-220Ts on the register
- Registration
- N8401E · no longer on the register · serial 34-8133135
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Executive or corporate flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT OF THE SECOND COMPANY AIRCRAFT TO ARRIVE IN THE VICINITY OF THE AIRPORT HELD WHILE THE FIRST ATTEMPTED AN NDR APPROACH. AFTER THE FIRST AIRCRAFT MADE A MISSED APPROACH THE PILOT OF THE SECOND AIRCRAFT ATTEMPTED THE APPROACH. THE AIRCRAFT FLEW INTO THE TREES SEVERAL MILES PRIOR TO REACHING THE AIRPORT. A RADAR ALTIMETER WAS ABOARD THE AIRCRAFT BUT WAS NOT USED. THE PILOT COMPLAINED THAT IT WAS JUST ANOTHER DANG BUZZER AND THERE WERE TOO MANY OF THOSE ALREADY.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,155 hours in all; 134 in this make and model; 81 in the last 90 days; 8,001 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,812 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 1985; 506 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,570 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSI00360KBIA (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ATL Atlanta GA
- Destination: FZG Fitzgerald GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 040° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:46 am from AMG, 40 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.