Piper PA-28-181 accident near Summersville, Missouri, November 23, 1986
On November 23, 1986 at about 2:00 am local time, a Piper PA-28-181, registered N4326P, was destroyed in an accident near Summersville, Missouri. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- November 23, 1986 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Summersville, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181 · all PA-28-181s on the register
- Registration
- N4326P · no longer on the register · serial 28-8490018
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PIC HAD FLOWN HIS ACFT FM SPRINGFIELD, MO TO OLATHE, KANSAS TO HAVE SOME REPAIR WORK ACCOMPLISHED AND WAS TO RETURN THAT SAME DAY. THE PIC NEVER RETURNED TO SPRINGFIELD. THE PIC HAD FLOWN TO SALEM, ILL WHERE WITNESSES STATED THEY OBSERVED THAT HE WAS CONFUSED AND DISORIENTED. THE PIC TRIED TO RETURN TO SPRINGFIELD, THE NEXT DAY, BUT STOPPED SHORT AT ROLLA, MISSOURI. AGAIN WITNESSES AT ROLLA STATED THAT THE PIC WAS CONFUSED AND DISORIENTED. THE PIC WAS ON THE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS TENORMIN AND LIBRIUM. BOTH OF THESE DRUGS HAVE WARNINGS THAT INCLUDE CONFUSION, DISORIENTATION AS SIDE EFFECTS. WEATHER IN THE CRASH SITE WHICH OCCURRED AT NIGHT, INCLUDED LOW CEILINGS AND FOG AND THE PIC WAS NOT INSTRUMENT RATED. THE FORECASTED WX FOR THE FLT TO SPRINGFIELD WAS VFR.
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
- Flight time: 361 hours in all; 18 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 112 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 236 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 11, 1986; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4M (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: V1H Rolla MO at 1:30 am
- Destination: 3DW Springfield MO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: overcast at 100 ft; not recorded at 100 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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.