- Date
- November 15, 1987, 18:00 local (Nov 16, 1987, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Mena, AR
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9131JPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report December 27, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871115066469A
- Case key
- 34472
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
On the day of this accident, there was a well-publicized weather system affecting the weather along the pilot's route: warm moist gulf air was moving northward toward a cold front that extended from Mexico to Canada. Residents in the area said the region had low ceilings, low visibility and thunderstorms. There is no evidence the pilot contacted any government agency for preflight weather information. The airplane flew almost straight and level into trees and terrain at the 2600-foot level on fourch mountain, north of Mena, Arkansas.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9131J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 283181
- Airframe hours
- 2,226
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360A3A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jesse W. Sellars
- Registered owner
- Jesse W. Sellars
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 6, 1987 · 27 hours before
- Departed
- PGR · Paragould, AR
- Destination
- Ft Worth, TX
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 750 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 80° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 400 ft broken
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FSM, 34 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.