Piper PA-28RT-201 accident near Buena Park, California, October 17, 1987
On October 17, 1987 at about 7:11 pm local time, a Piper PA-28RT-201, registered N43551, was destroyed in an accident near Buena Park, California (Fullerton airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- October 17, 1987 · about 7:11 pm local time
- Place
- Buena Park, California · Fullerton · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28RT-201 PA-28RT-20 · all PA-28RT-201s on the register
- Registration
- N43551 · no longer on the register · serial 28R8431010
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE DEPG ON AN IFR FLT TO VFR CONDS, THE PLT FAILED TO PROVIDE THE CORRECT TRANSPONDER CODE PER ATC CLNC. THE LOCAL CONTROLLER (CTLR) REMINDED HIM TO SET THE CORRECT CODE & THE PLT SUBSEQUENTLY REPLIED 'I'M HAVING A PROBLEM RIGHT NOW . . . I'VE GOT TO GET STRAIGHTENED AWAY . . .' THE CTLR AGAIN REMINDED THE PLT ABT THE CORRECT TRANSPONDER CODE & ADZD OF TRAFFIC AHEAD. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT BEGAN A SHALLOW DSCNDG LEFT TURN, THEN HIT THE TOPS OF 3 TALL PALM TREES, CRASHED IN AN APT COMPLEX & BURNED. SVRL WITNESSES RPRTD ENG PROBLEMS, BUT NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FND DRG THE INVESTIGATION. ALTHOUGH PROPERLY CERTIFICATED FOR THIS FLT, THE PLT HAD RECENTLY FAILED AN INSTRUMENT FLT TEST. THE FAA WAS IN THE PROCESS OF REVOKING HIS INSTRUMENT PRIVILEGES. THE PLT RPRTDLY WAS EXPERIENCING SERIOUS PERSONAL & FINANCIAL PRBLMS STEMMING FROM HIS WIFE'S ILLNESS & EXTENSIVE HOSPITALIZATION; HIS FLT INSTRUCTOR RPRTD THESE PRBLMS WERE ADVERSELY AFFECTING HIS FLYING SKILLS.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 445 hours in all; 262 in this make and model; 346 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,079 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 6, 1987; 82 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,750 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360-FB9 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: General Aviation Company
The flight
- Departed from: FUL Fullerton CA at 7:09 pm
- Destination: PDT Pendleton OR
- Flight plan: VFR then IFR
- Runway 24, 3,121 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:15 pm from FUL, 2 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.
Other NTSB records under N43551 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.