Piper PA-31-350 accident near Elkwood, Virginia, September 28, 1986
On September 28, 1986 at about 9:00 am local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N59942, was destroyed in an accident near Elkwood, Virginia (Culpeper CO. airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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
- September 28, 1986 · about 9:00 am local time
- Place
- Elkwood, Virginia · Culpeper CO. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N59942 · no longer on the register · serial 31-7552094
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT, WHICH WAS STOLEN FROM THE ARPT, COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND IN A STEEP ANGLE APRX ONE MILE SOUTH OF THE ARPT. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS EXISTED WITH LOCAL VISIBILITY LESS THAN ONE MILE AS REPORTED BY PERSONS NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE. THE PLT WAS NOT INSTRUMENT OR MULTIENGINE RATED. THE PLT WAS DENIED A MEDICAL CERTIFICATE ABOUT TWO WEEKSPRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT DUE TO UNCONTROLLED HYPERTENSION AND DIABETES.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Unknown (expired)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,139 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 12, 1986; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Cerrand Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: W49 Culpeper VA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 050° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 500 ft; not recorded at 500 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:54 am from DUL
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.