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ATL86FA242

1986-09-05 · LAVONIA, Georgia, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE PILOT HAD BEEN DIAGNOSED AS HAVING A BRAIN TUMOR AND WAS TAKING 300 MG OF DILANTIN DAILY FOR THE GILOMA. HE SUFFERED A GRAND MAL SEIZURE ABOUT TWO MONTHS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. HIS MOTHER STATED THAT THE PILOT TOLD HER DURING A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION THAT HE HAD TAKEN HIS MORNING DOSAGE OF DILANTIN PRIOR TO DEPARTING FOR MORGANTON, NC. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE WOODED AREA IN A NEAR VERTICAL ATTITUDE. THERE WERE SEVERAL FRESHLY CUT TREE BRANCHES ALONG THE WRECKAGE PATH. EXAMINATION OF THE CRASH SITE AND WRECKAGE FAILED TO DISCLOSE ANY AIRCRAFT MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE. THE EXACT DEVELOPMENT OF THE GILOMA WAS NOT DETERMINED DURING THE AUTOPSY. FAR PART 61.53 STATES THAT NO PERSON MAY ACT AS PILOT IN COMMAND WHILE HE HAS A KNOWN MEDICAL DEFICIENCY, AND THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MEDICAL CERTIFICATE HELD ARE NOT MET. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1986_ATL86FA242.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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