Rockwell 1121A accident near Oak Grove, Pennsylvania, November 2, 1988
On November 2, 1988 at about 3:13 pm local time, a Rockwell 1121A, registered N44, was destroyed in an accident near Oak Grove, Pennsylvania (Westmoreland CO. airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF THE PILOT IN COMMAND TO OBSERVE THE RAPID ACCRETION OF ICE ON THE AIRPLANE DUE TO HIS ATTENTION BEING DIVERTED.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 2, 1988 · about 3:13 pm local time
- Place
- Oak Grove, Pennsylvania · Westmoreland CO. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Rockwell 1121A
- Registration
- N44 · no longer on the register · serial 130
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT ENTERED AN AREA OF FCST MOD ICING. ICE DETECTION SYS HAD BEEN INTRMTLY INOP. THE ACFT ENTERED HOLDING IN ICING CONDWHILE CKG FLT INSP EQUIP. EVIDENCE INDICATED CREW NOTED ICE ACCRETION, ACTIVATED SURFACE DE-ICE SYS, ICE BROKE LOOSE ANDENTERED ENG INTAKES. BOTH ENGS FLAMED OUT. DRG EMERG DESCENT CREW INIT RE-STARTS, BUT NEITHER ENG WOULD SUSTAIN PWR. CREW RQSTD VECTORS TO MORE DISTANT AIRPORT. BOTH PLTS WERE SEEN DRINKING PREV NIGHT. C/P HAD RECENTLY LOST DRIVERS LICENSE FOR DUI. CAPT HAD DECIDED TO RETIRE THAT DAY. C/P HAD WORKED IN FLT OPS 3 DAYS IN 8 WKS AND HAD LMTD TRNG IN FLTINSPECTION. BOTH PLTS HAD PERSONAL STRESSES WHICH MAY HAVE INFLUENCED PERFORMANCE. CAPT'S CONTAMINATED THORACIC BLOOD REVEALED 0.057% ALCOHOL. PUTRIFICATION WOULD ACCT FOR PART OF ALCOHOL LEVEL. C/P HAD TRACE ALCOHOL IN URINE ONLY. BOTH ENGS SHOWED COMPRESSOR FOD CONSISTENT WITH ICE INGESTION. NO OTHER ACFT SYS OR ENG MALFUNCTION FOUND.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 16,957 hours in all; 4,428 in this make and model; 94 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days; 13,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,519 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 26, 1988; 121 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 18,500 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CJ-610-5 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: AGC Pittsburgh PA at 2:42 pm
- Destination: LBE Latrobe PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 5,501 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:12 pm from LBE, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
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.