Beech C17B accident near Butler, Pennsylvania, April 27, 1988
On April 27, 1988 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Beech C17B, registered N47024, was substantially damaged in an accident near Butler, Pennsylvania (Butler CO. airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 27, 1988 · about 7:00 pm local time · cases in 1988
- Place
- Butler, Pennsylvania · Butler CO. · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech C17B · all C17Bs on the register
- Registration
- N47024 · registry record · serial C17B-102
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER LANDING THE AIRPLANE WAS TAXIING ON RUNWAY 08 WHEN IT WENT OFF THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY AND STRUCK A RUNWAY LIGHT AND TAXI SIGN. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO GET BACK ON THE RUNWAY, THE LEFT GEAR COLLAPSED.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,681 hours in all; 10 in this make and model; 22 in the last 90 days; 1,320 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,306 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 1988
- Maximum gross weight: 3,165 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Jacobs L4MB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 38D at 7:40 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26, 3,998 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under N47024 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N47024 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Beechcraft C17 11 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Beechcraft 6 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Jacobs L4MB 1 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Pittsburgh/Butler Regional · nearest airport
- Salem Airpark · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Pennsylvania 1,836 since 1982 · 234 in the last ten years
- Pennsylvania 6,195 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N47024 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/NYC88LA134.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.