Cessna U206B accident near Columbia, Tennessee, February 11, 1986
On February 11, 1986 at about 10:20 pm local time, a Cessna U206B, registered N3403L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Columbia, Tennessee. 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 11, 1986 · about 10:20 pm local time
- Place
- Columbia, Tennessee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206B · all U206Bs on the register
- Registration
- N3403L · no longer on the register · serial U206-0703
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
SOON AFTER DEPARTURE THE PLT EXPERIENCED A SEVERE VIBRATION THROUGHOUT THE ACFT. ENG PWR WAS RETARDED AND THE VIBRATION SUBSIDED. THE PLT THEN NOTICED AILERON CONTROL PROBLEMS AND NOTICED THE LEFT WING TIP WAS MOVING UP AND DOWN. AN EMERGENCY LANDING WAS MADE IN A FIELD. INVESTIGATION REVEALED BOTH AILERONS HAD OVERTRAVELED AND WERE BENT. THE LEFT WING MAIN STRUCTURE WAS FOUND FRACTURED BUT HAD NOT SEPARATED. LINE SERVICE PERSONNEL REPORTED THAT THE ACFT DEPARTED WITH ONE HALF INCH OF SOLID ICE ON THE TOP SURFACES OF THE WING.
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: 1,560 hours in all; 366 in this make and model; 35 in the last 90 days; 1,391 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,896 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 3, 1985; 64 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BNA Nashville TN at 10:05 pm
- Destination: MIO Columbia TN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,500 ft; not recorded at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:50 pm from BNA, 32 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.