Piper PA-31T accident near Lawrence, Massachusetts, March 21, 1987
On March 21, 1987 at about 4:00 am local time, a Piper PA-31T, registered N200FD, was destroyed in an accident near Lawrence, Massachusetts (Lawrence airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people had minor injuries. 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
- March 21, 1987 · about 4:00 am local time
- Place
- Lawrence, Massachusetts · Lawrence
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31T · all PA-31Ts on the register
- Registration
- N200FD · no longer on the register · serial 31-7520040
- 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 CREW OF THE PA-31T CHEYENNE HAD MADE ONE MISSED APPROACH AND THE CO-PILOT WAS CALLING OUT THE ALTITUDES TO THE PILOT. THE PILOT'S REPLY TO THE CO-PILOT WAS THAT HE WAS JUST GOING TO DESCEND TO 400 FT. THE APPROACH MINIMUMS WERE PUBLISHED FOR AN MDA OF 660 FT PLUS 80 FT WHEN THE CONTROL ZONE IS NOT IN EFFECT. THE AIRCRAFT FLEW INTO RISING TERRAIN. THE CO-PILOT SUFFERED MINOR INJURIES, THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED DUE TO IMPACT AND FIRE.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,530 hours in all; 789 in this make and model; 167 in the last 90 days; 9,400 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,707 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 16, 1987; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,000 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-28 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PWM Portland ME at 1:00 am
- Destination: LWM Lawrence MA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 4,997 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 300° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft; not recorded at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:30 am from LWM, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.