# Accident 19860120000869A: Piper PA23250, Rural Retreat, VA, January 20, 1986

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 20, 1986, 15:54 local time
- Place: Rural Retreat, VA
- Airport: Mountain Empire
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Final Approach-IFR
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.8910° N, 81.2704° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.8910&lon=-81.2704&mi=10
- Aircraft: N14259, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N14259-1988-11-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-23-250 (registry code 7102308, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-23-250) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA23250
- Reported engine: LYC IO540C4B5
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,334 total, 143 in this make and model, 157 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL86LA061](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL86LA061) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19860120000869A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

IMPROPER INSTRUMENT APPROACH IN MOUNTAINOUS AREA. STRUCK TREES ON MOUNTAIN AFTER BREAKING OUT OF CLOUDS AFTER MAP.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ATL86LA061](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL86LA061), Jan 20, 1986: Piper PA-23-250 (N14259), Rural Retreat, VA, substantial damage

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.