Piper PA-28-180 accident near Lascassas, Tennessee, February 6, 1983
On February 6, 1983 at about 2:30 am local time, a Piper PA-28-180, registered N8366W, was destroyed in an accident near Lascassas, Tennessee (Murfreesboro airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was 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 6, 1983 · about 2:30 am local time
- Place
- Lascassas, Tennessee · Murfreesboro · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-180 · all PA-28-180s on the register
- Registration
- N8366W · no longer on the register · serial 28-2563
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED IN A FIELD ABOUT 8 MILES AFTER A NIGHT TAKEOFF IN IMC WEATHER. NO FLT PLAN WAS FILED. THE PILOT HAD RECEIVED SEVERAL BRIEFINGS. DURING HIS FINAL BRIEFING THE POSSIBILITY OF ICING WAS DISCUSSED. THE TAKEOFF TIME WAS ABOUT2030 HRS. THE NASHVILLE WEATHER OBSERVATION AT 2026 REPORT A CEILING OF 300 FT AND VISIBILITY OF 2 MILES IN SNOW AND FOG. RESIDENTS IN THE AREA REPORTED THAT FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW WERE FALLING WHEN THE CRASH WAS HEARD. THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED IN THE CRASH AND THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE PILOT WAS NOT INSTRUMENT RATED.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 400 hours in all; 250 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 345 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,456 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 28, 1982; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Mid-Tennessee Flying Club
The flight
- Departed from: MBT Murfreesboro TN at 2:30 am
- Destination: Huntington WY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 090° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:26 am from BNA, 22 miles away
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.
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.