Amateur-built DHC-6 accident near Homer City, Pennsylvania, October 12, 1985
On October 12, 1985 at about 1:40 am local time, a amateur-built DHC-6, registered N3257, was destroyed in an accident near Homer City, Pennsylvania. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. 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 12, 1985 · about 1:40 am local time
- Place
- Homer City, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-6
- Registration
- N3257 · no longer on the register · serial 192
- 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
THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED FLYING AT LOW ALTITUDE ALONG ABOUT A 5 MILE DISTANCE. SOME WITNESSES DESCRIBED THE ACFT ALTITUDE AS JUST ABOVE TREETOPS. WITNESS HEARD ENGINE SOUNDS AND SAW LIGHTS ON THE ACFT. THE ACFT FLIGHT WAS ON A SOUTHEAST DIRECTION BEFORE IT COLLIDED WITH RISING TERRAIN AT A HEIGHT OF ABOUT 1250 FT. THE WRECKAGE WAS SCATTERED ALONG A DISTANCE OF 375 FT AND ORIENTED ON A 160 DEGREE MAGNETIC HEADING. THE DESTINATION, PITTSBURGH, IS LOCATED SOUTHWEST OF THE DEPARTURE POINT, STATE COLLEGE. EVIDENCE OF ACFT MALFUNCTION WAS NOT DISCLOSED. THE ACFT HAD 1902 LBS OF CARGO INCLUDING 65 LBS OF DRY ICE WHICH WAS CONTAINED IN STYROFOAM BOXES. AUTOPSY AND TOXICOLOGICAL FINDINGS WERE NEGATIVE. THE PLT FLEW NIGHTLY, FROM STATE COLLEGE TO PITTSBURGH AND RETURNED THE FOLLOWING MORNING. HE OPERATED A BUSINESS DURING THE DAY. WITNESSES STATED THE PLT WAS WELL RESTED AND IN GOOD SPIRITS BEFORE THE FLIGHT.
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: 5,725 hours in all; 574 in this make and model; 106 in the last 90 days; 5,660 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 33,487 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 19, 1985; 36 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,579 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Mountain Air Cargo, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: UNV State College PA at 1:00 am
- Destination: PGH Pittsburgh PA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 250° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:50 am from JST, 20 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.