Piper PA-28R-201T accident near Bowling Green, Ohio, June 25, 1987
On June 25, 1987 at about 11:20 pm local time, a Piper PA-28R-201T, registered N38344, was destroyed in an accident near Bowling Green, Ohio (Wood CO. airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. 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
- June 25, 1987 · about 11:20 pm local time
- Place
- Bowling Green, Ohio · Wood CO. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28R-201T PA-28R-201 · all PA-28R-201Ts on the register
- Registration
- N38344 · no longer on the register · serial 28R7703203
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE INSTRUCTOR (CFI) RPRTD HE PREFLIGHTED THE ACFT & TAXIED TO THE REFUELING AREA. WHILE THERE, HE WAS APCHD BY ANOTHER PLT WHO WANTED TO GO WITH HIM ON THIS FLT. THEY AGREED & THE CFI MOVED TO THE RGT SEAT. THEY COMMENCED THE START-UP, RUN-UP & TAKEOFF CHECKLIST. THE CFI RPRTD THAT AFTER CLIMBING ABOUT 150', THE ENG LOST POWER. A TURN WAS MADE AWAY FM BLDGS & HOMES FOR AN EMERG LNDG IN A FLD. JUST BFR REACHING THE FLD, THE RGT WING HIT THE TOP CROSS PIECE OF A TELEPHONEPOLE, THEN THE ACFT CRASHED TO THE GND & WAS EXTENSIVELY DMGD. THE PLT RPRTD THAT JUST BFR IMPACT, THE ENG STARTED TO REGAIN POWER. AN EXAM OF THE ACFT REVEALED THERE WAS MOISTURE IN THE CYLINDERS. THE LEFT FUEL TANK CONTAINED FUEL WITH NO CONTAMINATION, BUT THE RGT TANK HAD RUPTURED & FUEL HAD SPILLED OUT. A CHECK OF THE RGT FUEL CAP REVEALED IT WOULD ALLOW WATER TO LEAK IN. THE BOLTS HOLDING THE CAP WERE TOO LONG & THE CAP COULD NOT BE ADJUSTED FOR A TIGHTER FIT. THE MIXTURE CTL CABLE HAD PULLED OUT OF A FITTING ON THE CARBURETOR, BUT IT SHOWED NO EVIDENCE OF SLIPPAGE BFR IMPACT.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,840 hours in all; 205 in this make and model; 77 in the last 90 days; 2,693 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,369 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 19, 1987; 95 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 24, 2,795 ft by 48 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:50 pm from FDY, 23 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.