Piper PA-23-250 accident near Chandler, Arizona, March 12, 1987
On March 12, 1987 at about 9:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-23-250, registered N62750, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chandler, Arizona (Chandler Muni airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
- March 12, 1987 · about 9:45 pm local time
- Place
- Chandler, Arizona · Chandler Muni
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23-250 · all PA-23-250s on the register
- Registration
- N62750 · no longer on the register · serial 277654199
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE CLBG FM A GO-ARND AT ABT 400' AGL, THE INSTRUCTOR (CFI) SHUT DWN THE L ENG BY CLOSING THE MIXTURE & THE STUDENT (PVT PLT) FEATHERED THE LEFT PROP. THE CFI THEN MOVED THE PROP CTL OUT OF THE FEATHER PSN, BUT THE PROP RMND FEATHERED. THE CFI WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE L ENG & THE ACFT WOULD NOT CLIMB AT THE BEST SINGLE-ENG RATE OF CLB SPD. IT WOULD ONLY MAINT A MIN RATE OF DSCNT OF 50' PER MIN. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT WAS DMGD DRG A WHEELS-UP LNDG ACROSS FURROWS IN AN ALFALFA FLD. THE FLT MANUAL STATED: DO NOT FEATHER A PROP IF THERE IS REASON TO SUSPECT THAT THE STARTING CHARACTER- ISTICS OF THE ENG ARE NOT NORMAL OR THAT RESTARTING IN THE AIR MAY BE DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE; DO NOT FEATHER A PROP IN CONDITIONS OF TEMPERATURE, ALTITUDE, WEIGHT OR TURBULENCE WHICH MAY PREVENT SINGLE ENG FLT AT ALTITUDES WELL ABOVE THE LOCAL GROUND ELEVATION; DO NOT FEATHER A PROP AT ANY TIME WHEN CONDITIONS OF TERRAIN OR OTHER CONDITIONS MAY PREVENT THE AIRPLANE FROM REACHING AN AIRPORT, IN CASE THE DEAD ENG CANNOT BE RESTARTED.
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
- Flight time: 1,853 hours in all; 202 in this make and model; 390 in the last 90 days; 123 in the last 30 days; 1,650 as pilot in command; 1,417 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,108 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 9, 1987; 51 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-C4B5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Chandler Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: P10 Chandler AZ at 9:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 4,395 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:55 pm from CHD, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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.