Grumman AA-1B accident near Daytona Beach, Florida, August 29, 1985
On August 29, 1985, a Grumman AA-1B, registered N6502L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Daytona Beach, Florida. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
- August 29, 1985
- Place
- Daytona Beach, Florida
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman AA-1B
- Registration
- N6502L · no longer on the register · serial AA1B-0302
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PILOT DID NOT KNOW HOW TO TURN ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS NOR DID HE HAVE A FLASH LIGHT AVAILABLE. HE CONTINUED FLIGHT INTO DARKNESS OF NIGHT AT WHICH TIME HE BECAME DISORIENTED AND LOST. HE CONTINUED TO FLY UNTIL HE EXHAUSTED ALL FUEL ON THE AIRCRAFT AND THE ENGINE FAILED. WHILE MAKING A FORCED LANDING ON A BEACH HE COLLIDED WITH A WOODEN STAIRWAY.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 744 hours in all; 192 in this make and model; 13 in the last 90 days; 744 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,525 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, July 12, 1985; 13 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,560 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-C2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PFN Panama City FL at 9:27 pm
- Destination: 34J New Smyrna Bch FL
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 100° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 77°F (25°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 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.