Piper PA-23-250 accident near Bainbridge, New York, December 18, 1984
On December 18, 1984 at about 4:00 am local time, a Piper PA-23-250, registered N6099Y, was destroyed in an accident near Bainbridge, New York (Sidney airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people were 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
- December 18, 1984 · about 4:00 am local time
- Place
- Bainbridge, New York · Sidney · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23-250 · all PA-23-250s on the register
- Registration
- N6099Y · no longer on the register · serial 27-3306
- 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
VFR CONDITIONS PREVAILED WHEN THE FLT DEPARTED BINGHAMTON, NY. THE DESTINATION WAS REPORTED AS CLEAR UNTIL JUST PRIOR TO THE ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL, THEN FOG BEGAN TO FORM. WITNESSES WHO HEARD THE ACFT, JUST PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, REPORTED HEAVY FOG. AFTER MAKING AN APCH TO RWY 7, THE ACFT TURNED TO A HEADING OF ABOUT 220 DEG, THEN COLLIDED WITH TREES ON A WOODED HILL, .85 MI NORTH OF THE ARPT. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. THE ELEVATION OF THE MAIN WRECKAGE WAS 1395 FT; THE ARPT ELEVATION WAS 1027 FT.
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: 4,450 hours in all; 675 in this make and model; 280 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,154 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 2, 1984; 8,090 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Susquehanna Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: BGM Binghamton NY at 3:30 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 7, 4,220 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N6099Y the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.