Piper PA-28-140 accident near Osceola, Arkansas, December 16, 1987
On December 16, 1987 at about 2:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-140, registered N1595J, was destroyed in an accident near Osceola, Arkansas (Municipal airport). 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
- December 16, 1987 · about 2:45 pm local time
- Place
- Osceola, Arkansas · Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-140 · all PA-28-140s on the register
- Registration
- N1595J · no longer on the register · serial 28-24006
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING JUMP-STARTED FROM AN AUTOMOBILE. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR LEFT FOR SOME EQUIPMENT WHEN THE STUDENT CALLED HIM BACK AND SAID THERE WAS SMOKE IN THE CABIN. THE AIRPLANE STARTED TO BURN AND WAS DEMOLISHED. THE STUDENT STATED THERE WAS A PINHOLE LEAK COMING FROM A FUEL LINE AND HITTING A HOT TERMINAL OF THE BATTERY.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 12,494 hours in all; 2,510 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days; 12,321 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,800 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 27, 1987; 102 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,050 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°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.
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.