Piper PA-31-350 accident near Panaca, Nevada, October 13, 1985
On October 13, 1985 at about 1:30 am local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N35533, was substantially damaged in an accident near Panaca, Nevada. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 3 people had minor injuries. 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
- October 13, 1985 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- Panaca, Nevada · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N35533 · no longer on the register · serial 31-8052047
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A FORCED LANDING ONTO ROUGH TERRAIN WAS MADE DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,000 hours in all; 1,402 in this make and model; 169 in the last 90 days; 13,700 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,973 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 17, 1985; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,800 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TI0-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ELK Elko NV
- Destination: LAS Las Vegas NV
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 12,000 ft; scat at 10,500 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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 N35533 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.