1977 — Feb 24, Pennsylvania Gov. plane crash (1 on ground), Bressler, Swatara Twp., PA-9

–10 Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Pennsylvania. [Inaccurate]
— 9 NTSB. AAR. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Piper PA-31T, N631PT, Bressler, PA, p. 1.
— 9 Owens. “40th anniversary of Bressler…crash that killed 9.” ABC27, Harrisburg, 2-24-2017.

Narrative Information

NTSB Synopsis: “About 0924 e.s.t., on February 24, 1977, a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Piper PA-31T Cheyenne (N631PT) crashed shortly after takeoff from runway 8 at the Capital City Airport, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. The aircraft crashed in a populated area in the town of Bressler, a suburb of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. All occupants of the aircraft, six passengers and two pilots, were killed. A woman was also killed when the house in which she lived was destroyed during the crash. Several private and commercial properties were damaged severely. The aircraft was destroyed.

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the flightcrew’s failure to insure that the aircraft was loaded properly and that its center of gravity was within certificated limits. As a result, the aircraft’s control characteristics were degraded significantly by a center of gravity position well aft of the certificated limits. This imbalance led to the pilot’s inability to control a longitudinally unstable aircraft during a climbing turn in instrument meteorological conditions.” (p. 1.)

Sources

Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Pennsylvania. Accessed 3-11-2009 at: http://www.baaa-acro.com/Pays/Etats-Unis/Pennsylvanie.htm

National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Piper PA-31T, N631PT, Bressler, Pennsylvania, February 24, 1977 (Report NTISUB/D/104-001). Washington, DC: NTSB, Jan 5, 1978. Accessed 10-1-2021 at: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR7801.pdf

Owens, Dennis. “40th anniversary of Bressler plane crash that killed 9.” ABC27, Harrisburg, 2-24-2017. Accessed 10-1-2021 at: https://www.abc27.com/news/40th-anniversary-of-bressler-plane-crash-that-killed-9/