Piper PA-28-180 accident near Gilmer, Texas, March 7, 1985
On March 7, 1985 at about 3:30 am local time, a Piper PA-28-180, registered N7012W, was destroyed in an accident near Gilmer, Texas (Gilmer-Upshur airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- March 7, 1985 · about 3:30 am local time
- Place
- Gilmer, Texas · Gilmer-Upshur · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-180 · all PA-28-180s on the register
- Registration
- N7012W · registry record · serial 28-689
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AN ASSOCIATE OF THE PLT/OWNER STATED THAT HE HAD DEPARTED AT ABOUT 2030 CST TO GET SOME NIGHT PRACTICE PRIOR TO GETTING A DAY VFR RESTRICTION REMOVED FROM HIS PVT LICENSE. REPORTEDLY, THE OWNER/PLT & AN INSTRUCTOR (CFI) WERE INTENDING TO FLY TOGETHER & PRACTICE TOUCH-&-GO LANDINGS. THERE WERE NO KNOWN WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT. THE ACFT WAS FOUND ABOUT 4 HRS AFTER IT HAD CRASHED. AN EXAM OF THE CRASH SITE REVEALED THE ACFT HAD COLLIDED WITH 70 FT TREES NEAR THE APCH END OF RWY 35. IMPACT OCCURRED IN A SLIGHT RIGHT BANK & SLIGHT NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE, AS IF THE ACFT WAS ON A BASE TO FINAL TURN, BUT TOO CLOSE IN & TOO LOW. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND DURING THE INVESTIGATION. THE CFI, WHO WAS ACTING AS A SAFETY PLT, RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES & HAD NO MEMORY OF WHAT OCCURRED DURING THE FLT. THERE WERE TALL TREES NEAR THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE RWY WHICH MAY HAVE OBSCURED THE RWY LIGHTS WHEN VIEWED FROM THE EAST OR SOUTHEAST.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 781 hours in all; 67 in this make and model; 43 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 647 as pilot in command; 321 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,159 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 28, 1984; 65 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 4FA at 2:30 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 3,000 ft by 50 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 090° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 35 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 am from GGG, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.