Piper PA-36-300 accident near Pulaski, Wisconsin, September 14, 1988
On September 14, 1988 at about 8:10 am local time, a Piper PA-36-300, registered N57847, was destroyed in an accident near Pulaski, Wisconsin. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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 14, 1988 · about 8:10 am local time
- Place
- Pulaski, Wisconsin · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-36-300 · all PA-36-300s on the register
- Registration
- N57847 · no longer on the register · serial 36-7760019
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED, 75 DEGREES NOSEDOWN, INTO THE TERRAIN. HIS WIDOW STATED THAT THE PILOT HAD LEFT HOME AT APPROXIMATELY 2100 CST ON THE ACCIDENT NIGHT, IN AN INEBRIATED CONDITION. AFTER A DISCUSSION ABOUT HIS DRINKING, HE REPORTEDLY STATED THAT THIS MIGHT BE THE LAST TIME HE FLEW. TOX TESTS REVEALED THAT THE PILOT'S BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL WAS 0.21%.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,160 hours in all; 2,700 in this make and model; 368 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 8,160 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,980 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 1988; 240 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: AG Air INC.
The flight
- Departed from: AIG Antigo WI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 280° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:46 am from GRB, 12 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.