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ATL86LA023

1985-11-11 · PADUCAH, Kentucky, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PAH

N9473Y has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (QUAD CITY CHALLENGER II, built 1995), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

AFTER BEING CLEARED FOR DESCENT TO 4,000 FT AND TO THE LOCALIZER THE ACFT LOST TWO WAY COMMUNICATIONS. THE PLT STATED THAT HE LOST HIS HSI AND RADIO'S. HOWEVER, HE WAS ABLE TO FLY IN THE AREA AROUND THE VORTAC FOR ALMOST AN HOUR BEFORE HE DESCENDED THROUGH A OPENING IN THE CLOUDS AND REACHED QLEAR WEATHER UNDER THE OVERCAST. THE PLT COULD NOT LOCATE THE ARPT, FUEL EXHAUSTION OCCURRED AND THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES DURING THE FORCED LANDING. ARTCC COULD HEAR THE PLT TRANSMITTING OCCASIONALLY BUT HE NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED ARTCC INSTRUCTIONS. THE PLT MADE NO ATTEMPT TO FLY TO HIS ALTERNATE.THE ACFT HAD A BACKUP ELECTRICAL VACUUM SYSTEM THAT WAS TESTED AFTER THE ACCIDENT AND FOUND TO BE OPERATIONAL. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_ATL86LA023.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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