Piper PA-31 accident near Eagle Lake, Texas, March 25, 1985
On March 25, 1985, a Piper PA-31, registered N23L, was destroyed in an accident near Eagle Lake, Texas (Private Strip airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- March 25, 1985
- Place
- Eagle Lake, Texas · Private Strip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31 · all PA-31s on the register
- Registration
- N23L · no longer on the register · serial 31-76
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON OR ABOUT 3/25/85, THE ACFT WAS LANDED ON A SHORT PRIVATE STRIP. DURING THE LANDING, IT OVERRAN THE STRIP, THEN COLLIDED WITH A DIRT BANK & A TREE. THE PLT ABANDONED THE ACFT. NEITHER HE NOR THE NEW OWNER COULD BE FOUND. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THE ACFT HAD BEEN SET AFIRE AFTER THE ACCIDENT. THE ACFT BORE A REGISTRATION OF N23LX, BUT THE ACFT DATA PLATE & FAA RECORDS SHOWED THAT A REGISTRATION OF N23L SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISPLAYED. DURING A SEEMINGLY UNRELATED ARREST, POLICE FOUND THE RECORDS OF N23L IN ANOTHER ACFT THAT WAS LOADED WITH 1500 LBS OF MARIJUANA. THE PLT WAS PRESUMED TO HAVE HAD NO INJURIES.
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
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 6,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N23L the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.