Cessna 441 accident near Derry, Pennsylvania, November 11, 1985
On November 11, 1985 at about 11:04 pm local time, a Cessna 441, registered N59MD, was destroyed in an accident near Derry, Pennsylvania (Westmoreland County airport). It was an executive or corporate flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 5 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 11, 1985 · about 11:04 pm local time
- Place
- Derry, Pennsylvania · Westmoreland County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 441 · all 441s on the register
- Registration
- N59MD · no longer on the register · serial 0177
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Executive or corporate flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG ARRIVAL, THE PLT WAS ADVISED THE DESTN WX WAS: ESTD 500' OVERCAST, VIS 1 MI WITH FOG, ARPT BLO MINS. THE PLT ELECTEDTO MAKE AN NDB RWY 23 APCH, BUT SAID HE WOULD DIVERT IF A MISSED APCH WAS MADE. HE WAS PROVIDED RADAR VECTORS & WAS CLRDFOR THE APCH. AT THE IAF (INITIAL APCH FIX/TINEY INTXN), RADAR SVC WAS TERMINATED & THE PLT WAS TOLD TO CONTACT TWR. ON TWR FREQ, THE PLT WAS AGAIN REMINDED THE ARPT WAS BLO MINS. APRX 2 MIN LATER, HE RPRTD OVR THE OUTER MARKER (OM) WHICH WAS 4.2 MI PAST (SW OF) THE NDB/FINAL APCH FIX (FAF) & 3.9 MI NE OF THE ARPT. SECONDS LATER, THE TWR X-MITTED INFO (JUSTRECD FM ARTCC) THAT THE ACFT WAS 2-1/2 MI EAST OF COURSE. TWR TRIED TO NOTIFY THE PLT, BUT RADIO & RADAR CONTACT WERE LOST. INV REVEALED THE ACFT IMPACTED A RIDGE NRLY 4 MI PAST THE NDB & 2 MI LEFT OF COURSE AT AN ELEV OF APRX 1900', BUT BFR PASSING THE OM. MIN DSCNT ALT (MDA) BTN THE NDB & OM WAS 2220' MSL. MDA AFTER PASSING THE 0M WAS 1940'; ARPT ELEV WAS 1161'. NO PREIMPACT ACFT PROBLEMS WERE FND. THE NDB FACILITY OPERATED SAFTISFACTORILY DURING FLT & GROUND CHECKS.
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; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 14,000 hours in all; 1,200 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 13,500 as pilot in command; 3,500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,760 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 11, 1985; 75 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,925 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE 331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RFD Rockford IL at 9:20 pm
- Destination: LBE Latrobe PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 5,500 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 020° at 6 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:20 pm from LBE, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.