Piper PA-32-300 accident near Sayre, Pennsylvania, May 13, 1987
On May 13, 1987 at about 11:20 am local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N32774, was destroyed in an accident near Sayre, Pennsylvania. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured. 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 13, 1987 · about 11:20 am local time
- Place
- Sayre, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N32774 · no longer on the register · serial 32-7540064
- 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
DRG INITIAL CLIMB AFTER TAKEOFF, SMOKE WAS OBSERVED IN THE COCKPIT. WHEN THE SMOKE BECAME HVY, THE PLT DECIDED TO LAND. HE ATTEMPTED A FORCED LANDING ON RISING TERRAIN IN FOGGY CONDS. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT CRASHED INTO THE SIDE OF THE HILL & BEGAN BURNING. DRG THE INVESTIGATION, ARCING TYPE BURNS WERE FOUND AROUND THE BOLT & NUT AT THE T1 TERMINAL. ALSO, THE EYELET FITTINGS ON THE ENDS OF 2 WIRES THAT ATTACHED AT THAT LOCATION WERE BADLY BURNED. THE SPECIFIC REASON FOR THE ARCING WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE PLT DID NOT HAVE A CURRENT BIENNIAL FLT REVIEW OR AIR TAXI/OPERATING CERTIFICATE.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,212 hours in all; 45 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 1,096 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,233 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 26, 1986; 125 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: N32 Sayre PA at 11:16 am
- Destination: Washington DC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:26 am from ELM, 22 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 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.