Piper PA-18-150 accident near Casa Grande, Arizona, October 28, 1987
On October 28, 1987, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N4101E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Casa Grande, Arizona. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 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
- October 28, 1987
- Place
- Casa Grande, Arizona
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
- Registration
- N4101E · registry record · serial 187809068
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING AN INSTRUCTIONAL FLT, THE STUDENT WAS PERFORMING CLIMBS, DESCENTS AND TURNS WHEN THE ENGINE SPUTTERED AND LOST POWER. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR TOOK CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT BUT WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE. THE AIRCRAFT WAS LANDED ON A DIRT ROAD WHERE IT COLLIDED WITH A RISE IN THE TERRAIN. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED THE ENGINE RAN NORMALLY EXCEPT FOR THE IDLE SPEED WAS 500 RPM (SLIGHTLY LOW) AND THE IDLE MIXTURE APPEARED TO BE SLIGHTLY LEAN.
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 single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,296 hours in all; 25 in this make and model; 351 in the last 90 days; 101 in the last 30 days; 1,150 as pilot in command; 883 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,960 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 7, 1987; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,625 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Chandler Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: P10 Chandler AZ at 11:50 pm
- Destination: P10
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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 N4101E 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.