Piper PA-28-161 accident near Glen Mawr, Pennsylvania, November 26, 1986
On November 26, 1986 at about 10:44 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-161, registered N8130A, was destroyed in an accident near Glen Mawr, Pennsylvania (Williamsport airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 26, 1986 · about 10:44 pm local time · cases in 1986
- Place
- Glen Mawr, Pennsylvania · Williamsport · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-161 · all PA-28-161s on the register
- Registration
- N8130A · registry record · serial 8016157
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG ARRIVAL, THE ACFT WAS VECTORED TO INTERCEPT THE ILS RWY 27 LOCALIZER (LOC) BFR REACHING THE MUNCI INITIAL APCH FIX (IAF), WHICH WAS 21.5 MI FM THE RWY. THE ATC CONTROLLER (CTLR) TOLD THE PLT TO MAINT 4000' UNTIL ON THE LOC, THEN CLRD HIM FOR THE APCH. FROM THE IAF, THE MIN ALT ON THE APCH WAS 3700' UNTIL INTERCEPTING THE ILS GLIDE SLOPE (GS) AT THE PICTURE ROCKS NDB (FAF). THE NDB WAS 9.4 MI FROM THE ARPT; THE OUTER MARKER (OM) WAS 4.8 MI FROM THE RWY. AS THE PLT CONTD, HE RPRTD THAT HIS INSTRUMENTS SHOWED HE WAS ON THE GS AT 2700', BUT THAT HE WAS STILL HEADED INBND TWD THE NDB. THE CTLR WARNED THAT THE ACFT SHOULD BE AT 3700' UNTIL REACHING THE NDB & REPEATED THE ALTIMETER SETTING. MOMENTS THERE-AFTER, THE CTLR LOST CONTACT WITH THE ACFT. IT CRASHED NR THE TOP OF A HILL ON WOODED TERRAIN AT AN ELEV OF ABOUT 2400',APRX 9 MI BFR REACHING THE NDB. AN EXAM REVEALED THE ACFT NAV EQUIP WAS PROPERLY SET. NO PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION OR FAIL- URE WAS FND. THE ILS SYS WAS FLT CHECKED & FND TO OPERATE 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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,205 hours in all; 282 in this make and model; 58 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 1,111 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,995 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 3, 1986; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,325 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D3G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MCI Muncie IN
- Destination: IPT Williamsport PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 6,449 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:50 pm from IPT, 19 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N8130A on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Piper PA-28 Cherokee, Warrior, Archer and Arrow 18,639 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,848 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D3G 134 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Williamsport Regional · nearest airport
- Kansas City International · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Pennsylvania 1,836 since 1982 · 235 in the last ten years
- Pennsylvania 6,188 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/NYC87FA038.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.