Piper PA-28R-200 accident near Hanceville, Alabama, March 11, 1986
On March 11, 1986 at about 11:16 pm local time, a Piper PA-28R-200, registered N74HB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hanceville, Alabama. 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 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
- March 11, 1986 · about 11:16 pm local time
- Place
- Hanceville, Alabama
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28R-200 · all PA-28R-200s on the register
- Registration
- N74HB · registry record · serial 28R-7135080
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ENROUTE TO BIRMINGHAM THE PILOT EXPERIENCED A COMPLETE POWER FAILURE WHEN NO. 2 CYLINDER SEPARATED FROM THE ENGINE ASSEMBLY. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON INTERSTATE 65 NEAR HANCEVILLE, AL, AND THE AIRCRAFTCOLLIDED WITH AN EMBANKMENT ADJACENT TO THE SOUTHBOUND LANES. THE INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD EXPERIENCED SEVERE ENGINE VIBRATIONS TWICE WITHIN THE THREE MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. ON BOTH OCCURRENCES THE CYLINDERS WERE OVERHAULED AND THE AIRCRAFT RETURNED TO SERVICE. THE MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL WHO REPAIRED THE ENGINE STATED THAT HE DID NOT FOLLOW THE PROCEDURES AS OUTLINED IN THE ENGINE SERVICE MANUAL. THE FAILURE TO RETORQUE AND INSPECT THE ENGINE ASSEMBLY CAUSED THE OTHER CYLINDERS STUDS TO LOOSEN AND EVENTUAL NO. 2 CYLINDER FAILURE.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,044 hours in all; 46 in this make and model; 330 in the last 90 days; 1,480 as pilot in command; 575 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,765 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 5, 1986; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-C1C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Huntsville AL at 10:44 pm
- Destination: Birmingham AL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; not recorded at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 59°F (15°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.
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.