Piper PA-32RT-300 accident near Sylvan Springs, Alabama, December 11, 1994
On December 11, 1994, a Piper PA-32RT-300, registered N6517C, was destroyed in an accident near Sylvan Springs, Alabama (Birmingham airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
POOR IN-FLIGHT PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND FOR FAILURE TO DEVIATE TO AN ALTERNATE AIRPORT AFTER ENCOUNTERING ICING CONDITIONS IN AN AIRPLANE NOT CERTIFICATED FOR FLIGHT IN ICING CONDITIONS. ALSO, FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN ALTITUDE RESULTING IN THE INFLIGHT COLLISION WITH AN ELECTRICAL TOWER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 11, 1994
- Place
- Sylvan Springs, Alabama · Birmingham · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32RT-300 PA-32RT-30 · all PA-32RT-300s on the register
- Registration
- N6517C · no longer on the register · serial 32R-7885030
- 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
BEFORE DEPARTURE THE PILOT WAS ADVISED OF THE FORECAST ALTITUDE OF THE FREEZING LEVEL AND WAS ALSO ADVISED THAT THE TEMPERATURE AT THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT WAS 15 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT ABOVE FREEZING. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED AND EN ROUTE EXPERIENCED WHAT THE PILOT REPORTED AS LIGHT RIME ICING. AT THE PILOT'S REQUEST THE FLIGHT WAS CLEARED TO RETURN AND THE CONTROLLER ADVISED THE PILOT THAT AN ALTERNATE AIRPORT WITH A NON-PRECISION INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURE WAS NEARBY. THE PILOT ELECTED TO CONTINUE TO THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT ON AN ASSIGNED HEADING AND REQUESTED A LOWER ALTITUDE. THE CONTROLLER CLEARED THE FLIGHT TO CRUISE 2,500 FEET. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH AN ELECTRICAL TOWER AND 250 KV CABLE ABOUT 90 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL THEN IMPACTED THE GROUND. THE TOWER WAS LOCATED ABOUT 14.3 NM AND 266 DEGREES FROM THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRFRAME REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION. THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT CERTIFICATED FOR FLIGHT INTO ICING CONDITIONS.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,661 hours in all; 161 in this make and model; 161 in the last 90 days; 64 in the last 30 days; 1,550 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,416 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 29, 1994; 48 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Carriers, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: BHM Birmingham AL at 11:37 pm
- Destination: MEM Memphis TN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 320° at 16 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 900 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 39°F (4°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.