Piper PA-31P accident near Lost Creek, West Virginia, July 20, 1983
On July 20, 1983 at about 2:40 pm local time, a Piper PA-31P, registered N234LC, was destroyed in an accident near Lost Creek, West Virginia. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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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
- July 20, 1983 · about 2:40 pm local time
- Place
- Lost Creek, West Virginia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31P · all PA-31Ps on the register
- Registration
- N234LC · registry record · serial 31P7400178
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT TOOK OFF WITH 4 OCCUPANTS & AN ESTIMATED 596 LBS OF CARGO ON BOARD. AFTER IT TOOK OFF, THE ATC CONTROLLER NOTED THAT IT WAS CLIMBING SLOWER THAN EXPECTED. AFTER CLIMBING TO ABOUT 4200 FT MSL, THE AIRCREW REPORTED A PROBLEM WITH THE LEFT ENG & SAID THEY DID NOT BELIEVE THEY COULD MAKE IT BACK TO THE DEPARTURE ARPT. THEY EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO CONTINUE TOWARD THE SOUTHWEST. ATC PROCEEDED TO VECTOR THEM TO THE WESTON ARPT, BUT INFORMED THEM THAT IT HAD NO INSTRUMENT APCH. AFTER THE REPORTED ENG MALFUNCTION, ATC PERSONNEL NOTED THAT THE ACFT CONTINUED IN A GRADUAL LEFT TURN. ABOUT 8 MIN AFTER TAKEOFF, RADIO CONTACT WAS LOST. A WITNESS ON THE GROUND SAW THE ACFT COME OVER A HILL WITH THE SOUND OF AN ENG AT HI POWER. AT ABOUT THAT TIME, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A POWER LINE CABLE, THEN CRASHEDINTO 2 TREES, IMPACTED THE GROUND & BURNED. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO SIGNIFICANT PREIMPACT FAILURES. THE ACFTWAS ESTIMATED TO BE APRX 400 LBS OVER ITS MAX CERTIFICATED GROSS WT.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,900 hours in all; 2,400 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,835 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 30, 1982; 134 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIGO-541-E1A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: Clarksburg WV at 2:30 pm
- Destination: Memphis TN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 8 knots
- Sky: not recorded at 300 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 pm from CKB, 5 miles away
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.
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 ATL83AA285.