Piper PA-28-140 accident near Crossville, Tennessee, March 20, 1983
On March 20, 1983 at about 11:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-140, registered N9600W, was destroyed in an accident near Crossville, Tennessee. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- March 20, 1983 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Crossville, Tennessee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-140 · all PA-28-140s on the register
- Registration
- N9600W · registry record · serial 28-23051
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO HINCH MT AT THE 2700 FOOT LEVEL DURING CRUISE FLT IN IMC WEATHER. THE PILOT WAS INFORMED DURING THE INITIAL AND SUBSEQUENT BRIEFINGS THAT VFR FLT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR HIS ROUTE. THE FIRST LEG OF THE FLIGHT FROM NEW ORLEANS TO TUSCALOOSA ENDED WITH A LANDING UNDER IFR CONDITIONS. THE PILOT TOLD THE FSS PERSONNEL HE WAS GOING BACK TO MERIDIAN, MS BUT INSTEAD CONTINUED ON TOWARD HIS ORIGINAL DESTINATION OF MASON WV. THE PILOT RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES FROM THE CRASH IN TN BUT HIS SON, A PASSENGER, SURVIVED. THE SON SAID THAT HIS FATHER WAS INSTRUMENT RATED BUT HAD NOT FILED AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN BECAUSE OF A KNOWN MALFUNCTIONING DIRECTIONAL GYRO. A STOP HAD BEEN MADE ON A PREVIOUS TRIP TO FIX THE DG BUT THE PROBLEM WAS NOT RESOLVED; FIRE DAMAGE PRECLUDED POSTACCIDENT DETERMINATION OF CAUSE OF THE MALFUNCTION.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,850 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,060 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: TCL Tulscaloosa AL at 7:13 pm
- Destination: 312 Point Pleasant WV
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 180° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:50 pm from CSV, 11 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.