Cessna 320B accident near Athens, Louisiana, April 14, 1985
On April 14, 1985 at about 1:40 am local time, a Cessna 320B, registered N3RU, was destroyed in an accident near Athens, Louisiana. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- April 14, 1985 · about 1:40 am local time
- Place
- Athens, Louisiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 320B · all 320Bs on the register
- Registration
- N3RU · no longer on the register · serial 320B0023
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS ON AN INSTRUMENT FLT PLAN. THE PLT HAD RECEIVED A PRE TAKEOFF WEATHER BRIEFING. HE WAS BRIEFED ON THE AREA OF WEATHER THAT WAS AT THE ACFT'S TWELVE O'CLOCK POSITION FOUR MILES IN FRONT. THE AREA WAS THIRTY MILES SOUTHWEST AND TWENTY MILES WIDE. THE PILOT STATED HE HAD A SLIGHTLY HOT ENGINE RIDES OR ONE WAS A LITTLE ROUGH. THE AIRCRAFT WAS CLEARED TO SHREVEPORT, GIVEN VECTORS ANS DESCENDED. ALL RADIO AND RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST AT ABOUT 4000 FEET. NO MALFUNCTIONS WERE NOTED ON EITHER ENGINE. NO KNOWN MALFUNCTION FOUND WITH ACFT. TAIL LIGHT BULB FILAMENT SHOWED NO DIRECT CURRENT BEING APPLIED AT IMPACT. POSSIBILITY OF INFLIGHT LOSS OF DC POWER CAUSING PILOT TO LOSE CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT DURING DARK NIGHT AND TURBULENT INSTRUMENT FLIGHT. AIRCRAFT ALLOWED TO IMPACT SURFACE IN NEAR PAST VERTICAL NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. POSSIBLE INADVERTENT ACTIVATION OF CRASH BAR LOSS OF ALL ELECTRICAL. POSSIBLE PASSENGER MOTION SICKNESS
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; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 26, 1984; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-470-C (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: F43 El Dorado AR at 1:15 am
- Destination: IAH Houston TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.