- Date
- August 28, 1985, 20:47 local (Aug 29, 1985, 00:47 UTC)
- Place
- Daytona Beach, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6502LGrumman AA-1B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 31259
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
Pilot did not know how to turn on the instrument panel lights nor did he have a flash light available. He continued flight into darkness of night at which time he became disoriented and lost. He continued to fly until he exhausted all fuel on the aircraft and the engine failed. While making a forced landing on a Beach he collided with a wooden stairway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6502L
- Reported as
- Grumman AA-1B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA1B-0302
- Airframe hours
- 1,525
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-C2C, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Harold A. Mcdougall
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · July 12, 1985 · 13 hours before
- Departed
- PFN · Panama City, FL
- Destination
- 34J · New Smyrna Bch, FL
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- Age
- 68
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 744 total · 192 in this make and model · 744 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 100° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 77 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DAB, 5 nm away