Piper PA-34-200T accident near Boston, Massachusetts, June 26, 1987
On June 26, 1987 at about 5:13 am local time, a Piper PA-34-200T, registered N33670, was destroyed in an accident near Boston, Massachusetts (Logan Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 26, 1987 · about 5:13 am local time
- Place
- Boston, Massachusetts · Logan Intl
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-34-200T · all PA-34-200Ts on the register
- Registration
- N33670 · no longer on the register · serial 347570146
- 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 EN ROUTE PORTION OF THE FLT WAS UNEVENTFUL, EXCEPT THAT THE PLT USED THE CALL SIGN 'N251DE' INSTEAD OF 'N33670' WHICH WAS THE REGISTRATION NUMBER OF HIS ACFT. DRG ARRIVAL AT BOSTON, HE WAS PROVIDED RADAR VECTORS, CLEARED FOR AN ILS RWY 4R APCH & INSTRUCTED TO CONTACT THE TOWER. THE PLT CONTACTED THE TOWER & RPRTD OVER THE OUTER MARKER. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE ACFT ENTERED A LEFT TURN, THEN RADIO & RADAR CONTACT WERE LOST. IT CRASHED ABOUT 2.5 MI SSE OF THE ARPT.A WITNESS NR THE CRASH SITE THOUGHT THE ACFT HAD ENG PROBLEMS WHEN HE SAW IT DSCNDG IN A WESTERLY DIRECTION. HE SAID THE ENG THEN 'SMOOTHED OUT' & THE PLANE BGN TO CLIMB, THEN IT SUDDENLY WENT INTO A DIVE & CRASHED. DRG IMPACT, THE ACFT STRUCK A RESIDENCE & A PARKED AUTO. THREE HOUSES & 10 AUTOS WERE DESTROYED BY IMPACT & FIRE, OTHER HOUSES WERE DMG BY FIRE. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FND. THE PLT WAS CONDUCTING PART 135 OPNS IN IFR WITH 545 HRS TOTAL FLT TIME, 59 HRS INSTRUMENT TIME & 95 HRS NGT EXPERIENCE.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 545 hours in all; 6 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 61 in the last 30 days; 407 as pilot in command; 132 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,828 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 18, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 4,570 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental L/TSIO-360-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: TEB Newark NJ at 5:59 pm
- Destination: BOS Boston MA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4, 10,005 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 070° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:25 am from BOS, 2 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.