Boeing 737-201 incident near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, December 6, 1982
On December 6, 1982 at about 2:31 am local time, a Boeing 737-201, registered N798N, suffered minor damage in an incident near Winston-Salem, North Carolina (Smith Reynolds airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. 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 incident. 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
- December 6, 1982 · about 2:31 am local time
- Place
- Winston-Salem, North Carolina · Smith Reynolds
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-201 · all 737-201s on the register
- Registration
- N798N · no longer on the register · serial 22751
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE FLT FROM BUFFALO WAS REPORTED AS CHOPPY & THE CHOP CONTINUED DURING THE DESCENT. WX WAS NOTED ON THE AIRBORNE RADAR SW & NW OF THE ARPT. AS THE ACFT APPROACHED THE OUTER MARKER THE CREW OBSERVED CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING NEAR THE ARPT & WERE INFROMED THAT A THUNDERSTORM WAS 2-3 MI WEST OF THE ARPT, MOVING TOWARDS THE ARPT. THE RAIN WAS LIGHT AT THE OUTER MARKER, BUT AS THEY PROCEEDED INBOUND THE INTENSITY INCREASED. THE PLT STATED HE THOUGHT THEY HAD MORE SPACE TO FLARE. HE REPORTED THAT THE LANDING WAS NOT HARD, BUT THE ACFT BOUNCED & ON THE SECOND CONTACT THE NOSE CAME DOWN TO THERWY. THE NOSE GEAR HAD COLLAPSED AFT INTO THE LOWER FUSELAGE DAMAGING THE BULKHEAD AT STATION 294.5. THE FLIGHT RECORDERREADOUT REVEALED A SUDDEN INCREASE IN AIRSPEED & SINK RATE DURING THE LAST 8 SECS PRIOR TO RWY CONTACT.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,500 hours in all; 3,300 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,814 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 100,800 lb
- Seats: 112
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Piedmont Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: Buffalo NY
- Destination: Winston-Salem NC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 33, 6,654 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 180° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 154°F (68°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:40 pm from INT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 |
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.