Cessna 414 accident near Georgetown, Delaware, December 13, 1985
On December 13, 1985 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Cessna 414, registered N13FH, was destroyed in an accident near Georgetown, Delaware (Sussex CO. airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. 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
- December 13, 1985 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Georgetown, Delaware · Sussex CO. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 414 · all 414s on the register
- Registration
- N13FH · registry record · serial 0651
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT IMPACTED TREES DURING A VOR APCH AND DESCENDED TO GROUND IMPACT. THE PLT FLEW THE APCH WITH THE AUTOPILOT COUPLED. THE ALT HOLD AND ALERT WERE SET FOR THE MDA. WHEN VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE ARPT ENVIROMENT WAS ESTABLISHED, THE PLT DISCONNECTED THE ALT HOLD AND BEGAN LOWERING FULL FLAPS. AT THIS TIME THE ELECTRIC TRIM PITCHED THE NOSE OF THE ACFT DOWN AND THE ACFT IMPACTED TREES.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 12,900 hours in all; 60 in this make and model; 130 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 5,713 as pilot in command; 7,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 920 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 1, 1985; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,800 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Hertrich Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: BLM Monmoth NJ at 8:00 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 22, 5,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 200° at 6 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from 5BY
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N13FH the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.