Piper PA-28R-200 accident near Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, June 26, 1986
On June 26, 1986 at about 6:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-28R-200, registered N44767, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mammoth Spring, Arkansas. It was a personal 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
- June 26, 1986 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Mammoth Spring, Arkansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28R-200 · all PA-28R-200s on the register
- Registration
- N44767 · no longer on the register · serial 28R-7535005
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD PLENTY OF OIL PRIOR TO DEPARTURE AND THAT THE FLIGHT WAS PROCEEDING NORMALLY WHEN, SUDDENLY, THE OIL PRESSURE DROPPED TO ZERO. WHILE SUBSEQUENTLY HEADING FOR A NEARBY AIRPORT, THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND SEIZED, FORCING AN OFF-AIRPORT EMERGENCY LANDING, ACCORDING TO THE PILOT. A POST-CRASH EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE BY AN FAA AIRWORTHINESS INSPECTOR REVEALED THAT THE OIL PLUG WAS MISSING AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF SAFETY WIRING. THE AIRCRAFT HAD JUST BEEN RELEASED FROM MAINTENANCE, ACCORDING TO THE INSPECTOR.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 334 hours in all; 18 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 196 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,712 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 16, 1986; 42 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-CIC (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FLP Flippin AR at 5:15 pm
- Destination: POF Poplar Bluff MO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:50 pm from JBR, 59 miles away
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.
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.