Piper PA-23-250 accident near Coatesville, Pennsylvania, November 12, 1985
On November 12, 1985 at about 4:50 am local time, a Piper PA-23-250, registered N54136, was destroyed in an accident near Coatesville, Pennsylvania (Chester County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. 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
- November 12, 1985 · about 4:50 am local time
- Place
- Coatesville, Pennsylvania · Chester County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23-250 · all PA-23-250s on the register
- Registration
- N54136 · no longer on the register · serial 277405444
- 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
THERE WAS NO WX RPRTG STN AT COATESVILLE, BUT APRX 25 MI ESE AT PHILADELPHIA, THE FORECAST WAS FOR OCNL CEILINGS OF 600'OVERCAST, VIS 3 MI WITH LGT RAIN SHOWERS & FOG. THERE WERE FLT PRCTNS FOR TURBC BLO 5000' DUE TO WND SHEAR, CEILINGS & VIS FREQ BLO 1000' & 3 MI WITH STRATUS, LGT DRIZZLE & FOG. DRG ARRIVAL, THE ACFT WAS VECTORED FOR A VOR RWY 29 APCH (ILSWAS OUT OF SVC). ON HIS 1ST ATTEMPT, THE PLT MADE A MISSED APCH. HE GOT VECTORS TO FLY THE APCH AGAIN & SAID HE WOULD PROCEED TO PHILADELPHIA, IF A LNDG COULD NOT BE COMPLETED. ON THE 2ND APCH, THE ACFT DSCNDD BLO RADAR COVERAGE AT 1800' MSL, APRX 3 MI ESE OF THE ARPT. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT CRASHED APRX 1 MI NNE OF THE RWY THRESHOLD, WHILE IN A STEEP NOSE DWN ATTITUDE. THE MAIN WRECKAGE CAME TO REST 44' NNE OF THE PRINCIPAL IMPACT POINT. NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WERE FOUND. THE STABILATOR TRIM WAS NOTED IN THE FULL NOSE DWN POSITION; BUT THE SYS'S INTEGRITY WAS NOT MAINTAINED DRG THE ACDNT. WX STUDY INDCD CLD BASES WERE AT 900' MSL. MIN DSCNT ALT (MDA) FOR THE APCH WAS 1060' MSL; ARPT ELEV WAS 662'.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,200 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 1,990 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,457 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 21, 1985; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ELM Elmira NY at 3:28 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 29, 4,600 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 080° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast; not recorded at 300 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:51 am from ILG, 22 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.