Cessna 172H accident near Middletown, Pennsylvania, April 27, 1985
On April 27, 1985 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172H, registered N8052L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Middletown, 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
- April 27, 1985 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Middletown, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172H · all 172Hs on the register
- Registration
- N8052L · no longer on the register · serial 17256252
- 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 NOSED OVER IN A PLOWED FIELD DURING A FORCED LANDING AFTER A PWR LOSS DURING CRUISE FLT. AFTER THE PWR LOSS THE PLT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND SET UP A SLIDE FOR THE NEARBY ARPT. STRONG WINDS INTERFERED IN THE PLANNED APPROACH AND THE ACFT SETTLED IN THE PLOWED FIELD. THE NOSE GEAR WAS SHEARED DURING THE LNDG.
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
- Flight time: 2,300 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 2,200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,946 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection; 33 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MDT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.