30.8327° N, 83.2785° WPlaced by OpenAirDocs: center of Valdosta, GA, within about 6 miles.Open in the map
Date
May 26, 1979 · 12:30 local
Place
Valdosta, GA
Airport
Municipal
Phase of flight
Takeoff Ground Roll
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N3549M
Reported as
Piper PA28161
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
151 total151 in this make and model0 in the last 90 days
From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Pilot lost directional control on takeoff, struck drainage ditch.
As the FAA filed it
PILOT LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL ON TAKEOFF, STRUCK DRAINAGE DITCH.