Piper PA-32R-300 accident near Southbridge, Massachusetts, March 12, 1989
On March 12, 1989 at about 2:45 am local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N301WA, was destroyed in an accident near Southbridge, Massachusetts. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
POOR JUDGEMENT OF THE PILOT BY FLYING WHILE PHYSICALLY IMPAIRED BY ALCOHOL, AND HIS CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC). RELATED FACTORS WERE: THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE PREFLIGHT PLANNING/PREPARATION, DARK NIGHT, ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND TREES AT THE ACCIDENT SITE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 12, 1989 · about 2:45 am local time
- Place
- Southbridge, Massachusetts
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N301WA · no longer on the register · serial 32R-7780411
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT & PAX TOOK OFF AT ABOUT 2100 EST ON A VFR FLT FROM NEWPORT, RI, TO SOUTHBRIDGE, MA. ABOUT 33 MIN LATER, THE PLT CONTACTED BRADLEY APCH CTL & REQUESTED ASSISTANCE TO THE SOUTHBRIDGE MUNI ARPT. THE CTLR WAS UNABLE TO OBTAIN RADAR CONTACT WITH THE ACFT & ADZD THE PLT THE VIS WAS 3/4 MI IN SNOWSHOWERS, BUT THAT ARPTS TO THE SOUTH WERE RPRTG VFR. THE PLT ELECTED TO CONT TO SOUTHBRIDGE. AT ABOUT 2145 EST, RADIO CONTACT WAS LOST. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES IN SOUTHBRIDGE & CRASHED. WITNESSES RPRTD THE ACFT CIRCLED THE AREA 3 TIMES BEFORE IT CRASHED. ALSO, THEY RPRTD THE ENG WAS OPERATING & THAT SNOW WAS FALLING. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT OR ENG WAS EVIDENT. TOXICOLOGY CHECKS SHOWED THE PLT HAD A BLOOD/ALCOHOL LVL OF 0.190% & URINE/ALCOHOL LVL OF 0.234%. ALSO, PSEUDOEPHEDRINE (A NON-PRESCRIPTION DECONGESTANT) WAS DETECTED IN HIS BLOOD AT A LVL OF 2.4 MG/L.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 900 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,297 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 22, 1988
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-KIG5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 2B4 Newport RI at 2:00 am
- Destination: 3B0 Southbridge MA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 280° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 700 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:45 am from ORH, 14 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N301WA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.