Piper PA-31T accident near Utica, Michigan, February 23, 1985
On February 23, 1985 at about 1:00 am local time, a Piper PA-31T, registered N100RN, was destroyed in an accident near Utica, Michigan (Berz-Macomb airport). It was an executive or corporate flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were 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
- February 23, 1985 · about 1:00 am local time
- Place
- Utica, Michigan · Berz-Macomb
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31T · all PA-31Ts on the register
- Registration
- N100RN · registry record · serial 31T-7820091
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Executive or corporate flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT ATTEMPTED A VOR APPROACH AND MISSED. HE ADVISED ATC HE WAS GOING TO ATTEMPT THE NDB & IF HE COULD NOT SEE THE RWY HE WOULD GO TO METRO AT DETROIT OR PONTIAC. ON THE NDB APPROACH THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK TREES 960 FT BELOW THE MOA. THE AIRCRAFT FLIPPED OVER LANDING ON THE NOSE & TOP OF THE FUSELAGE.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,000 hours in all; 800 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 8,500 as pilot in command; 3,500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,516 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 12, 1985; 23 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT 6A-28 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MGM Montgomery AL at 10:15 pm
- Destination: UIZ Utica MI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 22, 4,220 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:00 am from MTC, 7 miles away
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.
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.