Beech H18 accident near Allentown, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1983
On November 25, 1983 at about 1:08 pm local time, a Beech H18, registered N105PE, was destroyed in an accident near Allentown, Pennsylvania (Allentown airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 25, 1983 · about 1:08 pm local time
- Place
- Allentown, Pennsylvania · Allentown · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech H18 · all H18s on the register
- Registration
- N105PE · no longer on the register · serial 672
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE EN ROUTE, THE PLT ENCOUNTERED ICING CONDITIONS, THEN REPORTED HE WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ALT & WAS HAVING ENG PROBLEMS. HE DIVERTED TOWARD ALLENTOWN, PA, THEN ADVISED HE HAD LOST POWER IN THE LEFT ENG. APCH CONTROL BEGAN ISSUING VECTORS FOR A VOR APCH; HOWEVER, THE PLT ADVISED HE WAS UNABLE TO OPEN HIS APCH PLATES & REQUESTED A SURVEILLANCE RADAR APCH. RADAR VECTORS & ADVISORIES WERE PROVIDED UNTIL THE PLT REPORTED HE HAD THE ARPT IN SIGHT. SEVERAL WITNESSES OBSERVED THAT THE LEFT PROP WAS FEATHERED AS THE ACFT APCHD THE ARPT. THE PLT MANEUVERED THE ACFT TO A LEFT DOWNWIND FOR RWY 24 AT ABOUT 400 FT AGL WITH THE LANDING GEAR EXTENDED. WITNESSES REPORTED THE ACFT'S NOSE PITCH UP, THEN DOWN, THEN THE ACFT ROLLED TO THE LEFT & CRASHED. IN A TRAILER COURT IT HIT A MOBILE HOME & A PROPANE TANK & BURNED. A PERSON IN THE MOBILE HOME WAS FATALLY INJURED. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED THE LEFT PROP BLADES WERE AT THE LOW PITCH STOPS. NO PREIMPACT FAILURES WERE 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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,800 hours in all; 145 in this make and model; 145 in the last 90 days; 2,100 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,046 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 14, 1983; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Aero Taxi
The flight
- Departed from: PHL Philadelphia PA
- Destination: AVP Wilkes Barre PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 24, 7,600 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:53 pm from ABE, 1 miles away
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.