Piper PA-32RT-300T accident near Gaithersburg, Maryland, October 4, 1985
On October 4, 1985 at about 11:08 pm local time, a Piper PA-32RT-300T, registered N2106X, was destroyed in an accident near Gaithersburg, Maryland (Montgomery County airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- October 4, 1985 · about 11:08 pm local time
- Place
- Gaithersburg, Maryland · Montgomery County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32RT-300T PA-32RT-30 · all PA-32RT-300Ts on the register
- Registration
- N2106X · no longer on the register · serial 79-87121
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS CLRD FOR A VOR RWY 14 APCH. ON APCH, HE RPRTD AT THE SLEET INTXN (A FIX ON THE NDB APCH). THE ACFT WAS THEN SEEN FLYING OVR THE ARPT ON AN EASTERLY HDG. UNICOM OPERATOR SAID HE THEN HEARD THE PLT CALL "TURNING FINAL." HOWEVER, BFR LNDG, THE ACFT HIT TREES & CRASHED APRX .6 MI EAST OF THE ARPT. NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WERE FND. WITNESSESESTD A 200' CEILING, VIS 1/4 TO 1/2 MI. A WX STUDY INDCD THE CLD BASES WERE NR 600' MSL, THE VIS (BLO CLDS) WAS LESS 1 MI. MIN DSCNT ALT (MDA) & CIRCLING MIN ALT FOR THE APCH WERE 1180'. ARPT ELEV WAS 540'. DRG ARR, BFR REACHING THE VOR INITIAL APCH FIX (IAF) (17.3 MI NW OF ARPT), THE BWI CTLR CLRD THE PLT TO THE MIN VECTORING ALT (400' BLO THE IAF ALT), BUT DELAYED ADVISING FOR 8-1/2 MIN THAT RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST. AFTER REACHING THE IAF, THE PLT DELAYED TURNING OUTBND TWD THE HOLDING PATTERN. HE CONTD THE TURN & INTERCEPTED THE INBND COURSE FOR THE APCH APRX 15 MI NW OF THE ARPT. ARTCC RADAR (NOT AVAILABLE TO THE CTLR) SHOWED THE ACFT TRACKED RGT OF COURSE UNTIL CONTACT WAS LOST APRX 4 MI NW OF ARPT.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 905 hours in all; 232 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days; 768 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 1984; 19 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-S1AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BED Bedford MA at 4:01 pm
- Destination: GAI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 14, 4,235 ft by 73 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 120° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 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.