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).
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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 20, 1982 · about 9:00 pm local time · cases in 1982
- 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N143W on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Grumman G-164 119 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Grumman 443 aircraft on the register
- Engine: P & W R-985 1,593 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Accidents and incidents in Kentucky 702 since 1982 · 111 in the last ten years
- Kentucky 2,980 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ATL82DA280.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.