Beech V-35 accident near Palm City, Florida, January 6, 1987
On January 6, 1987 at about 4:20 am local time, a Beech V-35, registered N78BL, was destroyed in an accident near Palm City, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- January 6, 1987 · about 4:20 am local time
- Place
- Palm City, Florida
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech V-35 · all V-35s on the register
- Registration
- N78BL · registry record · serial D-7979
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND ON THE SOUTHBOUND LANE OF A CLOSED PORTION OF INTERSTATE 95 & STRUCK A LARGE TREE WITH THE RIGHT WING, HIT THE GROUND, FLIPPED OVER, CAME TO REST INVERTED & WAS CONSUMED BY POST CRASH FIRE. THE POLICE OFFICERS AT THE ACCIDENT SCENE REPORTED THAT APPROXIMATELY 15 BALES OF MARAJUANA WEIGHING APRX 459 POUNDS WERE FOUND ON THE ACFT.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 200 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-B/BA (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 350° at 12 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:26 am from VRB, 30 miles away
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.