Piper PA-28-140 accident near Indiana, Pennsylvania, September 30, 2007
On September 30, 2007 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-140, registered N1839T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Indiana, Pennsylvania (Indiana County airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control while landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 30, 2007 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Indiana, Pennsylvania · Indiana County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-140 · all PA-28-140s on the register
- Registration
- N1839T · registry record · serial 28-7125262
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was conducting a touch-and-go landing in a Piper PA-28-140, on runway 28, a 4,001-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway. After touchdown, the airplane veered to the left. The student pilot applied right rudder and brake; however, the airplane continued off the left side of the runway, across a grass area, and came to rest in a small ravine. The airplane sustained damage to the right wing, firewall, and nose gear. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions.
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
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 83 hours in all; 76 in this make and model; 33 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 5 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,509 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Haski Aviation Corp.
The flight
- Departed from: UCP New Castle PA at 3:00 pm
- Destination: IDI Indiana PA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 4,001 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.45 inHg
- Observation at 2:55 pm from IDI
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.