Beechcraft C24R N18878

Summary

On 16 March 1982 at about 07:00 local time, a Beechcraft C24R registered N18878 was involved in an accident near Mobile, Alabama, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

16 March 1982 at 07:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Mobile, Alabama, United States

Nearest airport

Mobile Regional (MOB)

Coordinates

30.7578, -88.3556

Aircraft

Beechcraft C24R

Registration

N18878

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Waynesboro → Mobile

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

MIA08CA076

1 person died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot's nephew stated that the pilot departed from Mobile Regional Airport (MOB), Mobile, Alabama on March 15, 1982 at an undetermined time, in a Beech C24R, N18878. The purpose of the flight was to pick up two passengers from the Louisiana Regional Airport, Gonzales, Louisiana, and take them to the Waynesboro Municipal Airport (2RO), Waynesboro, Mississippi. After dropping his passengers off, the pilot resumed the flight to MOB. When the pilot did not arrive at MOB that evening, his wife contacted a man who worked with him at the Mobile fixed base operator (FBO). The man stated that he heard the pilot on the radio attempting to reach the MOB FBO. However, he said, there was no answer, and no distress was noted in the call. The pilot was unable to land due to bad weather in the area. He then flew back to 2RO, and from there he called his wife in Mobile and advised her that he would stay at 2RO until it opened on March 16, then he would refuel and return back to MOB. Personnel at 2RO reported that they did not see the pilot's airplane on the morning of March 16, 1982. The pilot's wife contacted the local authorities, family, and friends. Search parties organized land and air searches and the news media were contacted. A woman who lived in the Big Creek Lake area called a television station, after seeing the report on television, to report that she heard a small plane in "distress" flying over the lake on the morning of March 16, 1982, between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. A search party searched the lake, but could not find the pilot or the airplane. On March 28, 1982 a teenage boy was fishing in Big Creek Lake when he discovered a body, which was later determined to be that of the pilot. On March 13, 2008, a fisherman, using his depth finder/sonar, located N18878 while fishing. He contacted the Mobile Sheriff's Department, and the airplane was verified to be the missing airplane from March 16, 1982. Examination of the airplane revealed that all fight control surfaces were intact. There was no damage to the propeller, and valve train continuity was established by rotating the propeller. Examination of the engine revealed that there was oil in the oil sump. Further examination of the cockpit revealed that the flap handle was in the retract position. The engine controls revealed that the mixture was full rich, propeller at max rpm, and throttle at max power. The fuel selector was on the right tank, and the ignition key was in the both position.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.