Piper PA-60-600 accident near Mansfield, Ohio, December 4, 1987
On December 4, 1987 at about 2:59 am local time, a Piper PA-60-600, registered N500TS, was destroyed in an accident near Mansfield, Ohio (Mansfield Lahm Municipal). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- December 4, 1987 · about 2:59 am local time
- Place
- Mansfield, Ohio · Mansfield Lahm Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-60-600 · all PA-60-600s on the register
- Registration
- N500TS · registry record · serial 60500162
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT DEPARTED LOUISVILLE, KY REPORTEDLY WITH A KNOWN OIL LEAK IN THE RIGHT ENGINE AND WAS ON THE SECOND LEG OF AN ON-DEMAND AIR TAXI CARGO FLIGHT. ABOUT 14 MINUTES AFTER ENTERING MANSFIELD APPROACH CONTROL AIRSPACE, THE PILOT REQUESTED AND RECEIVED AN ALTITUDE CHANGE FROM 5,000 TO 3,000 FT BECAUSE HE 'WAS PICKING UP A LOT OF ICE.' AFTER ENTERING CLEVELAND APPROACH AIRSPACE HE REPORTED THE RIGHT ENGINE HAD FAILED AND REQUESTED TO RETURN TO MANSFIELD. THE PILOT WAS INFORMED OF MANSFIELD WEATHER. HE THEN INDICATED HE WANTED TO TRY CLEVELAND, THEN REPORTED HE COULD NOT MAINTAIN ALTITUDE AND WANTED TO GO TO MANSFIELD. THE PILOT WAS RECEIVING VECTORS FROM MANSFIELD FOR AN ASR APPROACH TO RUNWAY 23 AND AT ABOUT 1 1/2 MILES FROM THE THRESHOLD THE PILOT REPORTED HE WAS LOWERING THE LANDING GEAR. THE AIRCRAFT THEN DISAPPEARED FROM THE RADAR SCOPE. INVESTIGATION REVEALED IMPROPER WELD REPAIRS TO THE RIGHT ENGINE CASE AND SEPARATION OF THE NUMBER SIX CYLINDER FROM THE CASE DUE TO FATIGUE CRACKING IN THE THROUGH BOLTS AND STUDS.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,870 hours in all; 1,170 in this make and model; 337 in the last 90 days; 6,370 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,176 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 14, 1987; 67 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1J5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Continental, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: LUK Cincinnati OH at 2:10 am
- Destination: CLE Cleveland OH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 6,795 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 310° at 4 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from MFD, 1 miles away
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.