Grumman G-164 accident near Greenville, Kentucky, September 20, 1982
On September 20, 1982 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Grumman G-164, registered N143W, was destroyed in an accident near Greenville, Kentucky. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under external-load helicopter rules (Part 133). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 20, 1982 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Greenville, Kentucky · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman G-164 · all G-164s on the register
- Registration
- N143W · registry record · serial 46
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · external-load helicopter rules (Part 133)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO THE CARETAKER OF MUHLENBURG AIRPORT, N143W WAS HAVING CARBURETOR PROBLEMS WHEN IT ARRIVED TO REFUEL PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. THE CARETAKER STATED THAT THE PILOT LEFT THE ENGINE RUNNING WHILE HE REFUELED BECAUSE THE PILOT SAID IT WOULDN'T START. APPROXIMATELY FIFTEEN MINUTES AFTER DEPARTURE FROM THE REFUELING STOP THE PILOT STATED THE AIRCRAFT LOST POWER AND HE WAS FORCED TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY LANDING. DURING THE LANDING, THE AIRCRAFT RAN UP A SLOPE IN A STRIP MINE, JUMPED A DITCH, THEN NOSED OVER AND BURNED.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,720 hours in all; 705 in this make and model; 110 in the last 90 days; 1,610 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,500 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,750 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P & W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: Greenville KY at 3:45 pm
- Destination: C Litchfield KY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ATL82DA280.