Piper PA-28-181 accident near Bluff, Utah, May 28, 1985
On May 28, 1985, a Piper PA-28-181, registered N3561G, was destroyed in an accident near Bluff, Utah (Bluff airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. 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
- May 28, 1985
- Place
- Bluff, Utah · Bluff · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181 · all PA-28-181s on the register
- Registration
- N3561G · no longer on the register
- 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
THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE WHICH BEGAN DURING AN ENGINE START. THE PLT STATED THAT HE USED PORPER HOT ENGINE START PROCEDURES. HE SAID THE THROTTLE WAS NOT PUMPED. THE PLT OBSERVED THAT THE FUEL PRESSURE WENT TO ZERO DURING THE SECOND START ATTEMPT. SMOKE WAS SEEN COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THE ACFT FIRE EXTINGUISHER FAILED TO OPERATE AND THE ACFT WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED BY FIRE. DUE TO FIRE DAMAGE, THE PRE-ACCIDENT CONDITION OF THE CARBURETOR COULD NOT BE EVALUATED.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,387 hours in all; 181 in this make and model; 24 in the last 90 days; 1,335 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 700 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 15, 1985; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,450 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Destination: Cortez CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0, 4,400 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N3561G the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.