- Date
- October 23, 1985, 12:39 local (16:39 UTC)
- Place
- Landisburg, PA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N54264Piper PA-23-250
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19851023077579A
- Case key
- 30169
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
The non-instrument rated pilot took off on a VFR crosscounty flight with no weather briefing. He flew into an area of adverse weather including low clouds, fog, drizzle & haze. The aircraft impacted near the top of a 2100 ft high hill in forested terrain.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N54264
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27-7554050
- Airframe hours
- 3,140
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Harry C. Gehrke
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 11, 1985 · 102 hours before
- Departed
- 7N7 · Pedrictown, NJ
- Destination
- HGR · Hagerstown, MD
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
- 51
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 296 total · 166 in this make and model · 203 as pilot in command · 34 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft overcast
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CXY, 30 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.