Amateur-built SD3-30 accident near Middletown, Pennsylvania, October 28, 1983
On October 28, 1983 at about 5:35 pm local time, a amateur-built SD3-30, registered N26288, was involved in an accident near Middletown, Pennsylvania. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed; 29 others were unhurt. 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
- October 28, 1983 · about 5:35 pm local time
- Place
- Middletown, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed; 29 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SD3-30
- Registration
- N26288 · no longer on the register · serial SH 3074
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER TAKEOFF ON A FLT TO WASHINGTON, DC, THE AIRCRAFT WAS CLIMBING THRU ABOUT 3500 FT WHEN A PERSON (RIDING AS A PASSENGER) MOVED TO THE RIGHT REAR DOOR, OPENED IT & DEPARTED THE ACFT. PRIOR TO THE FLT, AN ASSOCIATE, WHO WAS AN ACFT REFUELER, SAW THE PERSON NEAR THE END OF THE BOARDING LINE. THE REFUELER ASKED THE PERSON WHERE HE WAS GOING; THE PERSON REPLIED DC OR SOMEPLACE IN BETWEEN. WHEN THE PERSON GOT ON BOARD, HE SPOKE TO THE FLT ATTENDANT BY NAME & ASKED FOR A SPECIFIC SEAT NEAR THE RIGHT REAR DOOR. WHEN THE ACFT WAS CLIMBING AFTER TAKEOFF, THE FLT ATTENDANT HEARD AIR NOISE FROM THE OPENED DOOR & ALSO HEARD SOMEONE SCREAM 'MY GOD, HE JUMPED.' AFTER THE PERSON JUMPED, THE DOOR REMAINED PARTIALLY OPEN WITH HIS SHOE WEDGED IN THE DOORWAY.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,472 hours in all; 2,310 in this make and model; 5,358 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,005 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 22,000 lb
- Seats: 30
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-45A (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MDT
- Destination: DCA Washington DC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; not recorded at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 26 |
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.