Beech A36 accident near Traverse City, Michigan, February 27, 1985
On February 27, 1985, a Beech A36, registered N1816M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Traverse City, Michigan (Cherry Capitol airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- February 27, 1985
- Place
- Traverse City, Michigan · Cherry Capitol · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech A36 · all A36s on the register
- Registration
- N1816M · no longer on the register · serial E-1801
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO THE PLT, NO ICING PIREPS OR SIGMETS WERE RECEIVED DURING HIS PREFLT WX BRIEFING. HOWEVER, THE NWS BRIEFER STATED THAT HE TOLD HIM OF ONE PIREP & ONE SIGMET CONCERNING ICING THAT AFFECTED HIS PROPOSED ROUTE OF FLT. EN ROUTE TO HIS DESTINATION, THE PLT HAD TO DIVERT DUE TO LOW CEILINGS. HE THEN BEGAN TO NOTICE ICE ON HIS WINGS AS HE FLEW THRU HEAVY RAIN. HE BEGAN AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH WITH A ONE INCH BUILDUP OF ICE. AS THE ICING INCREASED, HE USED FULL POWER TO MAINTAIN A SAFE SPEED MARGIN. OVER THE APPROACH LIGHTS, HE REDUCED POWER SLIGHTLY & LOWERED THE GEAR. THE AIRSPEED DROPPED RAPIDLY & THE LEFT WING STALLED. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT IMPACTED A SNOW BANK APRX 40 FT SHORT OF THE RWY & WAS DAMAGED. AN EXAM OF THE ACFT REVEALED A ONE INCH THICK LAYER OF MIXED RIME & CLEAR ICE ON THE LEADING EDGES OF THE WINGS & TAIL SURFACES.
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: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,665 hours in all; 136 in this make and model; 264 in the last 90 days; 1,477 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,483 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 18, 1984; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-BB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: APN Alpena MI at 11:20 pm
- Destination: 4Y4 Gaylord MI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 28, 6,501 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 340° at 15 knots, gusting 7
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 900 ft; scat at 300 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 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.