Piper PA-24-250 accident near Pinehurst, North Carolina, April 27, 1987
On April 27, 1987, a Piper PA-24-250, registered N7136P, was destroyed in an accident near Pinehurst, North Carolina (Moore County airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 27, 1987
- Place
- Pinehurst, North Carolina · Moore County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-250 · all PA-24-250s on the register
- Registration
- N7136P · no longer on the register · serial 242301
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT CALLED APPROACH CONTROL AND REPORTED HE WAS OUT OF FUEL AND DIDN'T THINK HE WAS GOING TO MAKE THE AIRPORT. HE HAD LANDED AT AN AIRPORT ENROUTE BUT HAD NOT REFUELED. HE STATED THAT HE STARTED DESCENDING WHEN HE GOT WITHIN TEN MILES OF THE AIRPORT. HE CRASHED AND WAS FOUND LESS THAN A MILE FROM THE AIRPORT.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 827 hours in all; 35 in this make and model; 140 in the last 90 days; 801 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,317 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 25, 1986; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OMN Ormand Beach FL at 9:35 pm
- Destination: SOP Southern Pines NC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 5, 5,500 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 040° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.