Piper PA-32-300 accident near Andalusia, Alabama, March 7, 1986
On March 7, 1986 at about 2:35 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N1099X, was destroyed in an accident near Andalusia, Alabama. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 7, 1986 · about 2:35 pm local time
- Place
- Andalusia, Alabama · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N1099X · no longer on the register · serial 32-7540143
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACCIDENT FLT WAS TO BE THE LAST IN A SERIES OF FLT TESTS. THIS FLT WAS FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING THE LANDING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ACFT WITH A COMBINATION SPEED/STOL KIT INSTALLED. WHEN THE FAA FLT TEST PLT FAILED TO RETURN FROM THE MISSION A SEARCH WAS STARTED. THE ACFT HAD BEEN SEEN SPINNING BY 3 WITNESSES WHO ALSO SAW THE PLT JUMP FROM THE ACFT AT LOW ALT. THE PLT WORE A PARACHUTE BUT IT WAS NOT DEPLOYED AND HE WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE PLTS CLOTHING HAD OIL SPLATTERS WHICH CHEMICALLY TESTED THE SAME AS THE OIL USED FOR BALLAST IN THE ACFT. THERE WERE NO OIL CONTAINERSNEAR THE BODY WHICH WAS ABOUT 20 YDS FROM THE ACFT WRECKAGE. THE BALLAST WAS IMPROPERLY SECURED IN THE ACFT AND HAD NOT BEEN INSPECTED BY FAA. THE FAA INSPECTOR DID NO EVALUATION OR INSTRUCTING ON THE CONDUCT OF THESE TESTS. THE OWNER SAID HE HAD PERFORMED THE SAME TESTS AS ATTEMPTED BUT THERE WERE NO RECORDS CONCERNING THESE TESTS. THE EXIT DOOR JETTISON FUNCTION REQUIRED 3 PROCEDURAL STEPS FOR EGRESS.
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; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,513 hours in all; 8 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 2,642 as pilot in command; 1,064 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,010 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 3, 1986; 8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-KIA5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 79J Andalusia AL at 2:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:52 pm from DHN, 40 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.