- Date
- September 11, 1985, 01:05 local (05:05 UTC)
- Place
- Hayesville, NC
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N128SPCessna 404
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850911047119A
- Case key
- 6873
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Fisherman heard an aircraft overhead but did not see any sign of it in the night sky. Shortly thereafter they saw a flash and fire on the side of a mountain, then they heard the explosion. The sheriff was called and an investigation revealed a crashed aircraft. There were no signs of occupants in or near the aircraft. The next morning the body of a heavily armed man who had on a parachute and a deployed reserve parachute was found several miles away in a residential area. A key to the crashed aircraft was found on the body.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N128SP
- Reported as
- Cessna 404
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 404 0429
- Engine
- Continental GTSIO-520-M, 375 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Opex, Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Unknown
- Destination
- Unknown
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 200° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TYS, 45 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.