Piper PA-28-161 accident near Weston, Massachusetts, October 10, 1987
On October 10, 1987, a Piper PA-28-161, registered N8391A, was destroyed in an accident near Weston, Massachusetts. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- October 10, 1987
- Place
- Weston, Massachusetts
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-161 · all PA-28-161s on the register
- Registration
- N8391A · no longer on the register · serial 28-8116231
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG A NIGHT ARRIVAL, WHEN THE ACFT WAS APCHG THE BOSTON TCA, THE PLT DSCNDD TO 1000 FT. AS HE WAS LEVELING OFF, HE NOTED A POWER LOSS & WAS UNABLE TO REACH THE DESTN ARPT. HE IDENTIFIED A FIELD & INITIATED AN EMERG LANDING. DRG THE APCH, THE ACFT STRUCK POWER LINES, THEN IMPACTED THE GROUND. THE PLT RPRTD A FAULTY FUEL GAUGE & TOLD AUTHORITIES HE BELIEVED THE ACFT RAN OUT OF FUEL.
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: 894 hours in all; 426 in this make and model; 410 in the last 90 days; 734 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,990 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 21, 1987; 17 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D3G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Teterboro NJ at 11:30 pm
- Destination: Beverly MA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.