Cessna C207 accident near North East, Pennsylvania, January 8, 1985
On January 8, 1985 at about 1:30 am local time, a Cessna C207, registered N91046, was substantially damaged in an accident near North East, Pennsylvania. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- January 8, 1985 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- North East, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna C207
- Registration
- N91046 · no longer on the register · serial 207-00033
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING IN A GRAPE VINEYARD. THE PLT STATED THAT A TTL LOSS OF PWR OCCURRED DURING AN APCH TO ERIE INT'L ARPT WHILE PASSING THROUGH 3200 FT MSL. THE PLT PERFORMED EMERGENCY PROCEDURES AND WAS ABLE TO REGAIN PARTIAL PWR WHICH WAS INSUFFICIENT TO MAINTAIN ALT. THE PLT REPORTED THAT THE LOSS OF PWR OCCURRED DUE TO A FAILURE OF THE ENG DRIVEN FUEL PUMP. HE CONTINUED TO STATE THAT A BLOCKAGE IN THE FUEL LINE PREVENTED THE AUX FUEL PUMP FROM OPERATING NORMALLY.
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: 11,508 hours in all; 4,248 in this make and model; 373 in the last 90 days; 11,062 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,581 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 28, 1984; 59 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ROC Rochester NY
- Destination: ERI Erie PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 270° at 20 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:11 pm from ERI
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.