Beech G18S accident near Copperhill, Tennessee, February 22, 1986
On February 22, 1986 at about 12:30 pm local time, a Beech G18S, registered N74FA, was destroyed in an accident near Copperhill, Tennessee (Martin Campbell airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. 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 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 22, 1986 · about 12:30 pm local time · cases in 1986
- Place
- Copperhill, Tennessee · Martin Campbell · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech G18S · all G18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N74FA · registry record · serial BA-504
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS ALERTED AT 0100 FOR 0200 FLT FM KENOSHA TO MILWAUKEE, WI TO PICK UP CARGO FOR A FLT TO ATLANTA, GA. AT 0310,THE ACFT DEPTD MILWAUKEE IN VFR. EN ROUTE, THE PLT OBTAINED WX & AN IFR CLNC. SOME OF HIS RDO XMSNS WERE NOT STANDARD. AT 0433, HE COMPLIED WITH ATC REQUEST FOR FREQ CHG, BUT HIS RDO XMSNS WERE NOT CLEAR. APRX 5 MIN LATER, ATC ASKED THE PLT TO CHG FREQ AGAIN, BUT 5 CALLS WERE MADE BFR HE REPLIED. HIS LAST XMSN WAS AT 0445:48; HE DIDN'T RESPOND TO FURTHER ATC CALLS. THE ACFT CONTD CRUISING AT 11,000' UNTIL 0621, THEN IT DSCNDD W/O CLNC. RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST AT 0627 CST (0727 EST). SHORTLY THEREAFTER, IT IMPACTED TREES ON A MTN, THEN CRASHED TO THE GND & BURNED. A WITNESS BELIEVED THE ENGS WERE THROTTLED BACK BFR IMPACT. ALSO, THE WITNESS RPRTD LOW CLDS & FOG, BUT SAID THE MTN WAS VISIBLE & WAS NOT OBSCURED. THE PLT HAD A 0.158% BAC, NO SLEEP FOR 21.5 HRS, HISTORY OF ALCOHOL ABUSE, 7 PRIOR DWI CONVICTIONS (& NDR REC). ALSO, HE FALSIFIED FAA MEDICAL APPLICATIONS. FAA WAS ADVISED IN 1984, BUT TOOK NO ACTION.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,500 hours in all; 2,500 in this make and model; 118 in the last 90 days; 39 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,640 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 1, 1985; 37 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,700 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985-AN-14B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: K Airways,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: MKE Milwaukee WI at 9:30 am
- Destination: PDK Atlanta GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 060° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 am from CHA, 44 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N74FA on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Beechcraft G18 23 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Beechcraft 6 aircraft on the register
- Engine: P&W R-985-AN-14B 77 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Martin Campbell Field · nearest airport
- General Mitchell International · departed from
- Dekalb-Peachtree Airport · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Tennessee 1,196 since 1982 · 229 in the last ten years
- Tennessee 6,523 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ATL86MA080.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.