Cessna 414A accident near Marion, North Carolina, August 23, 1983
On August 23, 1983 at about 2:00 am local time, a Cessna 414A, registered N5ER, was destroyed in an accident near Marion, North Carolina (Shiflet Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people had minor injuries. 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 23, 1983 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Marion, North Carolina · Shiflet Field
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 414A · all 414As on the register
- Registration
- N5ER · registry record · serial 414A0037
- 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
DURING THE TAKEOFF RUN, AT 85 KTS, THE ACFT HIT A BUMP & THE PLT STATED HIS FORWARD VISION WAS OBSTRUCTED BY WATER ON THE WINDSHIELD. HE INSTINCTIVELY PULLED BACK ON THE CONTROLS & BECOME AIRBORNE. HE LOST SIGHT OF THE RIGHT SIDE SET OF RWY LIGHTS & WAS REPORTEDLY FLYING 'BLIND.' THE ACFT DRIFTED LEFT INTO TREES & CAME TO REST IN SHALLOW WATER IN A BACKWATER AREA 150 FT NORTH OF THE DEPARTURE END OF RWY 10. MANY OF THE RWY LIGHTS WERE EITHER NOT OPERATING OR WERE OBSTRUCTED. NO LIGHTS IN THE LAST 1000 FT OF THE RWY WERE BOTH OPERATING & UNOBSTRUCTED. THE NOAA ARPT/FACILITY DIRECTOR CONTAINS A REMARK FOR THE ARPT 'RUNWAY SUBJECT TO FLOODING AFTER VERY HEAVY RAINS.' THIS REMARK DOES NOT APPEARIN THE JEPPESEN 'AIRPORT DIRECTORY' THAT THE PLT WAS USING. AFTER THE ACCIDENT THE PLT STATED HE WALKED THROUGH THE EASTERN END OF THE RWY & FOUND HIMSELF 'UP TO HIS ANKLES' IN ABOUT 3 INCHES OF WATER.
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; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 16,372 hours in all; 1,571 in this make and model; 46 in the last 90 days; 15,982 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,582 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 22, 1983; 97 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,350 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520NB (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 9A9 at 2:00 am
- Destination: RDU Raleigh NC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 10, 3,340 ft by 180 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 360° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded at 2,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.