Piper PA-23-250 accident near Portland, Maine, April 28, 1987
On April 28, 1987 at about 7:45 am local time, a Piper PA-23-250, registered N13808, was destroyed in an accident near Portland, Maine. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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
- April 28, 1987 · about 7:45 am local time
- Place
- Portland, Maine
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23-250 · all PA-23-250s on the register
- Registration
- N13808 · no longer on the register · serial 27-4453
- 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 PILOT OF THE PA-23 WAS ATTEMPTING AN NDB APPROACH INTO THE PORTLAND, ME. INT'L JETPORT. THE WX WAS RPT'D AS MODERATE TURBULENCE AND MODERATE OR GREATER ICING, THE ICING LEVEL WAS RPT'D FROM THE SURFACE TO 16000 FT. PRIOR TO THIS NDB APPROACH THE PILOT HAD ATTEMPTED AN ILS TO THIS AIRPORT. HE HAD BEEN ADVISED THAT IT WAS RPT'D OUT OF SERVICE. BOTH APPROACHES WERE TO RWY 11. THE PILOT WAS LOCATED APPROX 10 HRS LATER TRAPPED IN THE WRECKAGE OF THE ACFT.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,800 hours in all; 2,900 in this make and model; 130 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,646 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 23, 1987; 88 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HFD Hartford CT at 7:15 am
- Destination: PWM Portland ME
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 360° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 9:00 am from PWM, 6 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.