Cessna 152 accident near Rush Township, Pennsylvania, December 3, 1995
On December 3, 1995 at about 11:54 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N67369, was destroyed in an accident near Rush Township, Pennsylvania. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's continued flight into adverse weather conditions which resulted in becoming lost and disorientated and subsequent impact with rising terrain. Factors in this accident were fog and a dark night.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 3, 1995 · about 11:54 pm local time
- Place
- Rush Township, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N67369 · no longer on the register · serial 15281805
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot had transmitted a 'MAYDAY', and radar and radio communications were established with the pilot by the Altoona Flight Service Station (FSS). The pilot reported '...I'm lost and...give me vectors to an airport.' He was given his location and asked to verify his altitude. He responded that he was at 3,300 feet, but the recorded radar data showed that the altitude was actually 3,000 feet. The controller asked the pilot if he was IFR qualified and was the aircraft equipped for IFR flight. The pilot answered he was 'not IFR rated,' but that the airplane was equipped for IFR flight. The pilot further informed the controller that he had half tanks of fuel remaining in both fuel tanks. The controller asked the pilot if he was in 'good' VFR flight condition and the pilot answered 'negative sir in and out.' Radar showed that the airplane was at 2,600 feet, and the controller advised the pilot that the emergency safe altitude was 2,500 feet. The pilot was also advised that the closest airport to his current position with acceptable ceilings was 20 to 25 miles northeast. The pilot was asked if he could maintain VFR conditions at 3,000 feet. He never answered. An ELT signal was heard and communications was never reestablished. The last two radar returns showed that the airplane was heading in a southerly direction, at altitudes of 2,600 and 2,700 feet. Searchers located the airplane wreckage in rising mountainous terrain the next morning at an elevation of 2,100 feet. The top of the mountain that the airplane impacted was 2,600 feet. Witnesses had heard a low flying aircraft in the area just before the accident, but couldn't see the airplane due to the heavy clouds and fog.
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: 660 hours in all; 6 in this make and model; 33 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 568 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,194 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 8, 1995; 130 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SHD Weyers Cave VA at 10:30 pm
- Destination: DUJ Du Bois PA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 260° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 100 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:56 pm from DUJ, 25 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.