Piper PA-60 incident near Folkston, Georgia, February 2, 1986
On February 2, 1986, a Piper PA-60, registered N9784Q, suffered minor damage in an incident near Folkston, Georgia (Davis Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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 incident. 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
- February 2, 1986
- Place
- Folkston, Georgia · Davis Field · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-60 · all PA-60s on the register
- Registration
- N9784Q · no longer on the register · serial 60-0416-143
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT STATED THAT WHILE ON A FLIGHT FROM TAMPA, TO JACKSONVILLE FL, HE MADE AN UNAUTHORIZED DEVIATION & LANDED AT DAVIS FIELD FOLKSTON GA, WHERE THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED. POST CRASH EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT REVEALED THAT THE GEAR COLLAPSED DUE TO THE FAILURE OF THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR OUTBOARD RETRACT STRUT ASS'Y.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,189 hours in all; 245 in this make and model; 205 in the last 90 days; 1,298 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-KIF5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: X16 Tampa FL at 9:30 pm
- Destination: JAX Jacksonville FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 2,500 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 54°F (12°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.
Other NTSB records under N9784Q 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.