On September 7, 1980, a Beechcraft 80 Queen Air (registration N242Q) operated by Mark Elliott was involved in an aviation accident near Lake Marian, United States of America in flight. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The exact cause remains undetermined because no wreckage or evidence was recovered from the site. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A).
An aircraft crashed into Lake Marian under circumstances that remain unknown, with no wreckage or pilot located at the scene.
What happened
An unidentified aircraft went down in Lake Marian during what is suspected to have been an unauthorized flight. Following the impact, a search was conducted; however, investigators were unable to locate any part of the wreckage or the pilot.
Because no debris or remains were recovered from the site, the specific sequence of events leading up to the impact cannot be reconstructed. The incident occurred under circumstances that suggest the flight may have been operating illegally at the time of the accident.
Findings
Official investigations concluded that the exact cause of the crash could not be established. This lack of determination is due to the absence of physical evidence and the failure to recover the aircraft from the lake.
Probable cause
The exact cause remains undetermined because no wreckage or evidence was recovered from the site.