Cessna P206-B accident near Wht Sulphur Spr, West Virginia, September 2, 1986
On September 2, 1986 at about 1:15 am local time, a Cessna P206-B, registered N4782F, was destroyed in an accident near Wht Sulphur Spr, West Virginia (White Sulphur Springs airport). 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
- September 2, 1986 · about 1:15 am local time
- Place
- Wht Sulphur Spr, West Virginia · White Sulphur Springs · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna P206-B · all P206-Bs on the register
- Registration
- N4782F · no longer on the register · serial P206-0382
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER COMPLETING THE REVENUE PRODUCING PORTION OF THIS TRIP THE COMPANY PRESIDENT CALLED HIS COMPANY OPERATIONS AND TOLD HIS SECRETARY TO SEND EVERYONE HOME SINCE IT WAS A HOLIDAY. HE WAS GOING TO RETURN THE ACFT TO ITS HOME BASE HIMSELF. THE PLT DEPARTED VFR, AIR FILED AND FLEW AN IFR FLT PLAN TO THE FINAL APCH FIX TO THE CLOSEST ARPT WITH AN INSTRUMENT APCH, CANCELLED THE IFR FLT PLAN AND HEADED TOWARD THE HOME ARPT VFR. FOG AND LOW CEILINGS WERE IN THE AREA AT THE TIME. THE ARPT WAS EQUIPPED WITH RWY LIGHTS BUT DID NOT HAVE STROBES ON EITHER END, IT WAS LOCATED IN A VALLEY. AN ACFT WAS OBSERVED EAST OF THE APT LATER IN THE NIGHT. IT HAD ALREADY PASSED THE ARPT AND WAS IN A TURN WHEN LAST OBSERVED. AN ALNOT WAS ISSUED DURING THE NIGHT FOR THE MISSING ACFT. IT WAS DISCOVERED THE NEXT DAY ABOUT ONE-HALF MILE WEST AND NORTH OF THE ARPT, ON THE SOUTH-WEST SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,719 hours in all; 44 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,497 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 20, 1986; 76 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-KCA (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Greenbrier Airlines INC.
The flight
- Departed from: DAY Dayton OH at 11:17 pm
- Destination: SSU
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:45 am from LWB, 6 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.