Piper Aircraft INC PA46R-350T accident near Folkston, Georgia, April 10, 2025
On April 10, 2025 at about 8:08 pm local time, a 2008 Piper Aircraft INC PA46R-350T, registered N179ST, was substantially damaged in an accident during approach (VFR go-around) near Folkston, Georgia (Davis Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries; 3 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during a go-around.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 10, 2025 · about 8:08 pm local time
- Place
- Folkston, Georgia · Davis Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries; 3 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper Aircraft INC PA46R-350T, built 2008
- Registration
- N179ST · registry record · serial 4692003
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the conclusion of the instrument flight rules flight, the pilot approached the 2,500-ft-long by 50-ft-wide runway at the destination airport. The pilot was unable to recall any of the events that transpired after the landing flare, but the front seat passenger described that the airplane’s nose pitched up as the airplane descended below the tops of the trees that surrounded the airport. The pilot then initiated a go-around, but the airplane did not climb as expected and drifted left towards the trees. The left wing then dropped before the airplane struck the ground, resulting in a postimpact fire. The fuselage and left wing were substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot reported, and a postaccident examination of the wreckage confirmed, that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
What happened, in order
- Loss of control in flight during approach (VFR go-around) defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,510 hours in all; 194 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days
- Last flight review: March 6, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
Passenger
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: serious injuries
Passenger
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: minor injuries
Passenger
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,502 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 25, 2024
- Maximum gross weight: 4,340 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A (piston); 1,560 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: AJR Cornelia GA at 6:40 pm
- Destination: 3J6 Folkston GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 01, 2,500 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,000 ft; scat at 2,700 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
- Observation at 3:56 pm from JAX, 25 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KJAX 101956Z 09009KT 10SM SCT027 BKN090 23/16 A3009 RMK AO2 SLP188 T02330161
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 3 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
10 documents, released by the NTSB on March 19, 2026. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 8 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Witness Interview Summary | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Excerpt from Piper PA-46R-350T Pilot's Operating Handbook - Landing and Go-around (Normal Procedures) | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Excerpt from Piper PA-46R-350T Pilot's Operating Handbook Landing and Go-around (Expanded) | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | FAA Air Traffic Chronological Summary of Flight | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Investigation Photographs | PDF, 8 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Aerial Image of Accident Area | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 8 | Memorandum for Record - Wreckage Examination | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 9 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 10 | Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA25LA172.