Cessna 404 incident near Mc Rae, Georgia, March 15, 1986
On March 15, 1986 at about 3:30 am local time, a Cessna 404, registered N408EX, was involved in an incident near Mc Rae, Georgia. 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
- March 15, 1986 · about 3:30 am local time
- Place
- Mc Rae, Georgia · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 404 · all 404s on the register
- Registration
- N408EX · no longer on the register · serial 404-0431
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING CRUISE FLIGHT PILOT HEARD LOUD BANG FROM RIGHT ENGINE AND RIGHT PROPELLER FEATHERED. AIRCRAFT WAS DIVERTED AND LANDED WITH NO FURTHER DAMAGE AND NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT. SUBSEQUENT TEARDOWN OF ENGINE REVEALED FRACTURED CONNECTING ROD. EXAMINATION OF ROD REVEALED FATIQUE FRACTURE DUE TO SURFACE INCLUSION IN ROD SHANK. INCLUSION RESULTED FROM OXIDES WHICH FORMED DURING HEAT TREATMENT AND WERE NOT COMPLETELY REMOVED PRIOR TO SHOT PEENING.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,260 hours in all; 437 in this make and model; 152 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,079 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 23, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 8,400 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental GTSIO-520-M (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JAX Jacksonville FL
- Destination: DHN Dothan AL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 220° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:52 am from MCN, 45 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.