Piper PA-23-250 accident near Alma, Michigan, March 25, 1988
On March 25, 1988 at about 3:22 am local time, a Piper PA-23-250, registered N54848, was destroyed in an accident near Alma, Michigan (Alma airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. 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
- March 25, 1988 · about 3:22 am local time
- Place
- Alma, Michigan · Alma · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23-250 · all PA-23-250s on the register
- Registration
- N54848 · no longer on the register · serial 27-7554148
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG ARRIVAL, THE PLT WAS PROVIDED VECTORS FOR AN SDF RWY 9 APCH. NO WX RPRT WAS AVAILABLE FOR THE DESTN (ALMA), BUT THE PLT WAS ADZD THE SAGINAW WX WAS: INDEFINITE CEILING, 200' OBSCURED, VIS 1/2 MI WITH FOG, TEMP 41, DEW POINT 31, WIND 100 DEG AT 8 KTS, ALTIMETER 29.90. THE PLT RPRTD THAT AFTER HE WAS CLRD FOR THE APCH, HE DSCNDD TO THE MIN DSCNT ALT (MDA) OF 1300' MSL BY USING THE AUTO-PLT. HE STATED THAT ABOUT 1 MIN PAST THE FINAL APCH FIX, HE HEARD A 'THUMP' WHICH HE THOUGHT TO BE A PSBL BIRD STRIKE. HE SAID HE INITIATED A MISSED APCH, BUT DID NOT RECALL WHETHER HE ADDED PWR OR DISENGAGED THE AUTO-PLT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT DSCNDD INTO TREES & CRASHED ABT 2.5 MI WEST OF THE ARPT. AN EXAM OF THE CRASH SITE REVEALED THE ACFT HAD COLLIDED WITH TREETOPS, THEN PULLED UP & CONTD OVER TREES FOR ABOUT 400' & FINALLY DSCNDD STEEPLY INTO THE WOODED AREA & CRASHED IN A RIVER. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT WAS FOUND. ELEV OF THE CRASH SITE WAS RPRTD AS 754'.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,673 hours in all; 146 in this make and model; 71 in the last 90 days; 1,163 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,728 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 16, 1988; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GRR Grand Rapids MI at 3:00 am
- Destination: AMN Alma MI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9, 5,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 100° at 9 knots
- Sky: not recorded at 200 ft
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.