Piper PA-32R-300 accident near Tannersville, New York, June 26, 1987
On June 26, 1987 at about 1:15 am local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N7146C, was destroyed in an accident near Tannersville, New York. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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 1:15 am local time
- Place
- Tannersville, New York · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N7146C · registry record · serial 7680031
- 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
WHILE ON A VFR AIR TAXI CARGO FLIGHT, THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH TREES ON THE EAST SIDE OF HIGH PEAK MOUNTAIN, ELEVATION 3,655 FEET. THE ACCIDENT SITE ELEVATION WAS 3080 FEET. A WITNESS SAID IT WAS HEAVY OVERCAST, NOT RAINING AND THE CLOUDS WERE NOT BELOW THE MOUNTAIN TOPS. THE INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE MOON WAS BELOW THE HORIZON, SUNSET AND CIVIL TWILIGHT WERE AT 2038 AND 2113, RESPECTIVELY, AND CLOUDS 3000 TO 5000 FEET SCATTERED, 10,000 TO 12,000 FEET SCATTERED, LAYERS OCCASIONALLY BROKEN. EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE DID NOT DISCLOSE ANY PRE-EXISTING MALFUNCTIONS OR FAILURES.
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: 2,488 hours in all; 17 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,825 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 13, 1987; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-KIA5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: UKT Quakertown PA
- Destination: 5B2 Saratoga Spring NY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 120° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.