Date:	04-SEP-1969
Time:	15:23 LT
Type:	Piper PA-30-320 Twin Comanche
Owner/operator:	Robert Dunlap (owner)
Registration:	N7005Y
MSN:	30-6
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:	Tuscaroroa Mountains, Port Royal, Juniata County, Pennsylvania -   United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Bellefonte Skyport, Pennsylvania
Destination airport:	Harrisburg International Airport, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (MDT/KMDT)
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
Written off (destroyed) September 4, 1969 when struck the fog shrouded 2,458 feet (749 metre) Tuscorara Mountain near Port Royal, Juniata County, Pennsylvania (at approximate co-ordinates 40°14′12″N, 77°44′18″ W); All four persons on board (pilot and three passengers) were killed. Aircraft caught fire after impact. According to a contemporary newspaper report (see links #4 and #5)

"4 Killed When Plane Crashes On Mountain
PORT ROYAL. PA (AP) Four men were killed Thursday when a twin-engine plane crashed into a fog-shrouded mountain in central Pennsylvania. Killed when a twin-engine Piper Comanche plowed into a mountain in dense haze and fog were Mayor Sidney G. Willar, 76: Robert Dunlap, in his 30s, Gerald Robinson, 29; and Harold Flick, 35, all of Bellefonte.

Proclamation Issued: Hugh T. Manchester, president of Borough Council, and acting mayor, issued a proclamation today mourning the deaths and directing that flags in this Central Pennsylvania community be lowered to half staff. Flick, who left nine children; Dunlap, who left five, Robinson who left two, and Willar were flying to Harrisburg, 40 miles to the southeast, when the crash occurred. The plane smashed' into a wooded mountain near Port Royal, about halfway between Bellefonte and Harrisburg. The four men were flying to meet with state officials to discuss the upcoming celebration marking the bicentennial of the discovery by white settlers of the giant spring in the city that gives it its name La Belle Fonte, the beautiful spring.

Turned Back: 'Officials at Skyport, said the Bellefonte Willar, Flick, co-owners with Dunlap of an auto agency, and Robinson, a Pennsylvania State University employee, started out in a single engine plane. They, turned back because of the weather and Dunlap. who also owns Bellefonte Skyport, offered to fly them in his plane, which had more equipment. Members of the search party said it looked as though the plane flew right into the mountain, which was obscured by fog and haze."

According to the official NTSB report into the accident:

"PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
PILOT IN COMMAND - INADEQUATE PRE-FLIGHT PREPARATION AND/OR PLANNING - CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT INTO ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS"

1. NTSB Identification: NYC70A0031 at https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=5714&key=0
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=7005Y
3. http://planecrashmap.com/plane/pa/N7005Y/
4. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (September 6, 1969) Page 3 at https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/88923255/
5. The Gettysburg Times from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (September 5, 1969) Page 11 at https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/46838384/
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscarora_Mountain
7. Chicago Tribune, September 5, 1969 p. 15 at http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1969/09/05/page/63/article/7-missing-in-crash-of-b-52-jet-bomber
8. The Express from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania (September 8, 1969) Page 6 at https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/5711066/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
25-Feb-2008 12:00	ASN archive	Added
24-Jan-2017 14:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
24-Jan-2017 14:16	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
24-Jan-2017 14:30	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
09-Jul-2019 09:28	BEAVERSPOTTER	Updated [Cn]