Cessna 182 accident near Poestenkill, New York, July 26, 1987
On July 26, 1987 at about 11:50 am local time, a Cessna 182, registered N6313A, was destroyed in an accident near Poestenkill, New York. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 26, 1987 · about 11:50 am local time
- Place
- Poestenkill, New York · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182 · all 182s on the register
- Registration
- N6313A · registry record · serial 33113
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PLT WAS ON A FLT TO PSN THE ACFT FOR SKY DIVING ACTIVITIES. AS HE WAS TRANSITING THE ALBANY ARPT RADAR SVC AREA AT 5500', RADIO AND RADAR CTC WERE LOST. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT CRASHED IN A STEEP DIVE AND WAS DEMOLISHED BY IMPACT. PSNL IN THE AREA RPRTD AN OVC COND AND ESTD THE VIS WAS AT LEAST 1 MI. ABT 12 MI ESE, THE 0750 ALBANY WX WAS IN PART: 1200' SCT, 6000' BKN. VIS 2 MI WITH FOG. LOW CLOUDS AT THE RPRTG STN HAD LIFTED BY THE TIME OF THE ACDNT. RADAR DATA SHOWED THE ACFT DEVIATED IN BOTH HDG AND ALT FM 5500', ENTERED A DIVE WITH COURSE REVERSALS; THEN PRIMARY RADAR TARGETS APPEARED JUST BFR RADAR CTC WAS LOST. BOTH WING TIPS SEPD IN FLT, BUT WERE NOT FND. PIECES OF WING SKIN WERE FND UP TO 400 YDS AWAY. LARGE DROOP WING TIPS WERE RPRTDLY INSTALLED, BUT NO AUTHORIZATION WAS FND FOR SUCH INSTALLATION. A PATHOLOGICAL EXAM SHOWED THE PLT HAD 'MODERATE MILD CORONARY ARTERIOSCLEROSIS.' THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ANTEMORTEM CARDIAC ISCHEMIA COULD NOT BE RULED OUT. THE PLT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN TREATED FOR A SUSPECTED HEART CONDITION.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine
- Flight time: 2,587 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 7, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 7B7 Quaker Street NY
- Destination: 0B5 Turner Falls MA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; scat at 2,200 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 am from ALB, 12 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.