Piper PA-32R-300 accident near Hillsdale, Michigan, September 22, 1987
On September 22, 1987 at about 12:26 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N8799E, was destroyed in an accident near Hillsdale, Michigan. 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
- September 22, 1987 · about 12:26 pm local time
- Place
- Hillsdale, Michigan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N8799E · no longer on the register · serial 32R7680179
- 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
TKOF AND CLIMB TO 7000 FT WERE MADE ON THE LEFT FUEL TANK. SHORTLY AFTER LVL-OFF, THE PLT SWITCHED TO THE RT TANK AND STAYED ON IT DURING THE INITIAL CRUISE. THE PLT THEN SWITCHED BACK TO LEFT TANK AND ABT 10 MIN LATER THE ENG BEGAN TO LOSE PWR. READINGS WERE NORMAL. THE PLT CONTACTED CLEVELAND CTR, DECLARED AN EMERGENCY, SWITCHED TO 7700 ON THE TRANSPONDER, SET UP A DESCENT, AND RECEIVED INSTRUCTIONS TO THE NEAREST ARPT. THE ACFT DESCENDED INTO UNDERCAST AND STRUCK THE TOPS OF TREES WITH ITS LEFT WING. IT THEN ROLLED LEFT, STRUCK THE GRD AND CAME TO REST INVERTED. NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND IN THE EXAM OF THE ENG OR FUEL SYSTEM THAT WOULD EXPLAIN THE PARTIAL LOSS OF PWR.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,200 hours in all; 13 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 1,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 1, 1987; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Prompt Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MDW Chicago IL at 11:05 am
- Destination: DET Detroit MI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 6 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from JXN, 7 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.