Piper AEROSTAR 601P accident near Sylacauga, Alabama, November 6, 1985
On November 6, 1985 at about 9:15 pm local time, a Piper AEROSTAR 601P, registered N601PC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sylacauga, Alabama (Lee Merkle Fld airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 6, 1985 · about 9:15 pm local time · cases in 1985
- Place
- Sylacauga, Alabama · Lee Merkle Fld · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper AEROSTAR 601P AEROSTAR 6 · all AEROSTAR 601Ps on the register
- Registration
- N601PC · no longer on the register · serial 0602793269
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING TAKEOFF GROUND RUN THE PLT LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE ACFT WHICH RAN OFF THE SIDE OF THE RWY AND INTO A GROVE OF TREES. THE PLT STATED THAT THE RIGHT ENG LOST PWR, HOWEVER, THE ENG WAS TEST RUN AFTER THE ACCIDENT AND NO DISCREPANCIES WERE NOTED.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,139 hours in all; 518 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,072 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 4, 1985; 54 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-S1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SCD Sylacauga AL at 9:13 pm
- Destination: BHM Birmingham AL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 4,720 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under N601PC the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N601PC: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Piper AEROSTAR 601 117 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,848 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-S1A5 10 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Merkel Field Sylacauga Municipal · nearest airport
- Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Alabama 1,211 since 1982 · 173 in the last ten years
- Alabama 4,349 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N601PC 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ATL86LA019.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.