Piper PA-28-161 accident near Bethel, Pennsylvania, January 25, 1994
On January 25, 1994 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-161, registered N28767, was destroyed in an accident near Bethel, Pennsylvania. 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 attempting visual flight rules (VFR) flight into instrument meteorological conditions and the pilot not maintaining clearance from objects/terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 25, 1994 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Bethel, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-161 · all PA-28-161s on the register
- Registration
- N28767 · no longer on the register · serial 28-7916416
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ON A VFR FLIGHT, THE PILOT ENCOUNTERED INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED A MOUNTAIN TOP AT 1,630 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL. ACCORDING TO A CO-WORKER WHO WAS FLYING ANOTHER AIRPLANE ON THE SAME ROUTE AND AT THE SAME TIME, THE PILOT OF THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE STATED OVER THE RADIO THAT HE WAS GOING TO DESCEND TO 1,700 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL. THAT WAS THE LAST TRANSMISSION THE CO-WORKER RECEIVED FROM THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE PILOT. POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE AIRFRAME AND ENGINE DID NOT REVEAL ANY ANOMALIES.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 730 hours in all; 5 in the last 90 days; 34 in the last 30 days; 623 as pilot in command; 396 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,518 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 11, 1993; 41 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D3G (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Aero-Tech Services
The flight
- Departed from: 37PA Smoketown PA at 8:30 pm
- Destination: N13 Bloomsburg PA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 800 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:50 pm from IPT, 55 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.