Piper PA-32R-300 accident near Lambsburg, Virginia, February 5, 1982
On February 5, 1982 at about 7:12 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N75225, was destroyed in an accident near Lambsburg, Virginia. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 5, 1982 · about 7:12 pm local time
- Place
- Lambsburg, Virginia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N75225 · no longer on the register · serial 32R-7680280
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON AN AIR TAXI FLIGHT TO TRANSPORT 2 PRISONERS AND WAS TO BE OPERATED ON A VFR FLIGHT PLAN IN VFR CONDITIONS ONLY. PRIOR TO TAKEOFF, THE PILOT HAD OBTAINED 12 WEATHER BRIEFING. IN 2 OF THE BRIEFINGS, VFR FLIGHT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED. AT ABOUT 1338, HE DEPARTED FROM WINSTON-SALEM IN VFR CONDITIONS ON A FLIGHT TO KNOXVILLE, TN. WITNESSES, SOUTH OF THE CRASH SITE, REPORTED SEEING THE AIRCRAFT HEADING NORTH NEAR INTERSTATE HIGHWAY I-77. THEY REPORTED THE ENGINE WAS STEADY AND LOUD. ONE WITNESS STATED THAT THE PLANE WAS FLYING AT ABOUT 200 FT AGL, WELL BELOW THE MOUNTAINS AHEAD. REPORTEDLY, THERE WAS FOG IN THE AREA AND THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS WERE COMPLETELY OBSCURED BY FOG. ONE OR TWO MINUTES LATER THEY HEARD THE CRASH. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE PLANE HAD IMPACTED THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN WHILE IN LEVEL FLIGHT, THEN BURNED. NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION/FAILURE OR FOUL PLAY WAS FOUND. THE PILOT HAD RECENTLY BEEN HIRED AND THIS WAS ONLY HIS SECOND FLIGHT AS PILOT-IN-COMMAND WITH THIS COMPANY.
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: 600 hours in all; 65 in this make and model; 80 in the last 30 days; 338 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 85 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Air Security Transport Corpora
The flight
- Departed from: INT Winston Salem NC at 1:38 pm
- Destination: TYS Knoxville TN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 104°F (40°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.
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 never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.