Globe GC-1B accident near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, May 29, 1986
On May 29, 1986 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Globe GC-1B, registered N80611, was substantially damaged in an accident near Johnstown, Pennsylvania (Johnstown airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 29, 1986 · about 9:00 pm local time · cases in 1986
- Place
- Johnstown, Pennsylvania · Johnstown · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Globe GC-1B · all GC-1Bs on the register
- Registration
- N80611 · registry record · serial 1016
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE FLIGHT DEPARTED JOHNSTOWN-CAMBRIA AIRPORT AT ABOUT 1600 HOURS AND RETURNED AT ABOUT 1700 HOURS. ON LANDING, THE PILOT FORGOT TO LOWER THE LANDING GEAR AND LANDED GEAR UP. THE AIRCRAFT SLID TO A STOP AND ABOUT FIVE MINUTES LATER FIRE ERUPTED.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 3,930 hours in all; 2,488 in this make and model; 35 in the last 90 days; 3,810 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 536 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 1,710 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: JST Johnstown PA at 9:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 5,486 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 55°F (13°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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N80611 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Globe GC-1 Swift 425 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Globe 425 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 1,070 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- John Murtha Johnstown/Cambria County · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Pennsylvania 1,836 since 1982 · 234 in the last ten years
- Pennsylvania 6,195 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/NYC86LA139.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.