Piper PA32R-301 accident near Butler, Pennsylvania, November 28, 1993
On November 28, 1993 at about 9:10 pm local time, a Piper PA32R-301, registered N707JS, was destroyed in an accident near Butler, Pennsylvania (Butler County airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S INADVERTENT FLIGHT INTO IMC CONDITIONS AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALTITUDE. THE WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE A FACTOR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 28, 1993 · about 9:10 pm local time
- Place
- Butler, Pennsylvania · Butler County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA32R-301 · all PA32R-301s on the register
- Registration
- N707JS · registry record · serial 32R-8513014
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PRIVATE PILOT, WITH TWO HOURS OF ACTUAL INSTRUMENT TIME ACCORDING TO HIS LOG BOOK, HAD DEPARTED UNDER VFR CONDITIONS. UPON HIS RETURN TO HIS DESTINATION, HE ENCOUNTERED INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC). THERE WERE SEVERAL WITNESSES WHO HEARD THE AIRPLANE OVERFLY THEIR HOMES AT A LOW ALTITUDE. SOME OF THE WITNESSES STATED THAT IT WAS SNOWING HEAVILY, AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO SEE THE AIRPLANE DUE TO THE LOW VISIBILITY. THE PILOT CONTACTED PITTSBURGH APPROACH CONTROL AND WAS RECEIVING VECTORS FOR THE ILS RUNWAY 8 APPROACH WHEN RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST. RADAR DATA OBTAINED FROM THE AIR ROUTE TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER SHOWED THE AIRPLANE MAKING SEVERAL CIRCLES. THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A 50 FOOT TALL TREE BEFORE COLLIDING WITH A RESIDENTIAL HOUSE AND WAS CONSUMED BY FIRE.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,792 hours in all; 1,050 in this make and model; 59 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 3,428 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,100 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 12, 1993
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Armstrong Telephone CO.
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 8, 4,005 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 8 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 0.5 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded at 500 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:19 pm from BTP
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.