Hawker Siddeley DH 125-400A accident near Sparta, Tennessee, November 7, 1985
On November 7, 1985 at about 1:35 pm local time, a Hawker Siddeley DH 125-400A, registered N100HF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sparta, Tennessee (Sparta-White CO. airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 4 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
- November 7, 1985 · about 1:35 pm local time
- Place
- Sparta, Tennessee · Sparta-White CO. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 4 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Hawker Siddeley DH 125-400A DH 125-400
- Registration
- N100HF · registry record · serial NA 717
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
TEN MINUTES PRIOR TO LANDING HEAVY RAIN FELL ON AIRPORT.ACFT MAD NORMAL TOUCHDOWN,SPOILERS & LIFT DUMP ACTIVATED.PIC DELAYED BRAKE APPLICATION AS USUAL AND DID NOT GET THRUST LEVERS IN IDLE.AFTER ACFT PASSED MID-FIELD TAXIWAY PIC REPORTED BRAKES BECAME INEFFECTIVE.ACFT HYDROPLANED ON WATER-COVERED RUNWAY AND OVERRAN DEPARTURE END,DOWN AND EMBANKMENT, & HIT A DITCH.RUNWAY HAD AN OFF CENTER CROWN, GRASS WAS ABOUT TWO FEET TALL AT RUNWAY EDGE, AND A DAM HAD FORMED FROM PREVIOUSLY CUT GRASS WHICH PREVENTED WATER DRAINAGE.AIRPORT MANAGER SAID HE WAS NOT AWARE WATER WOULD STAND ON RUNWAY.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,161 hours in all; 1,802 in this make and model; 173 in the last 90 days; 2,700 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,461 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 16, 1985
- Maximum gross weight: 23,800 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Garrett TFE 731-3-1H (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hardee'S Food System, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: RWI Rocky Mount NC at 12:00 pm
- Destination: SRB Sparta TN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 3, 5,006 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 900 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:22 pm from BNA, 70 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 1 | ||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.