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Accidents · NTSB ATL83LA078 · Preliminary: the investigation is not finished

Piper PA-28-180 accident near Daufuskie Islan, South Carolina, December 30, 1982

On December 30, 1982 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-180, registered N9305J, was destroyed in an accident near Daufuskie Islan, South Carolina. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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
December 30, 1982 · about 7:00 pm local time
Place
Daufuskie Islan, South Carolina · 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
N9305J · no longer on the register · serial 28-3397
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

THE PILOT'S WIFE STATED HER HUSBAND HAD DEPARTED TAMPA, FL AND COULD NOT RECALL IF HE HAD INDICATED A DESTINATION. SHE FURTHER STATED HER HUSBAND HAD A "CHARTER". INVESTIGATION BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AND DRUG ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL LOCATED COCAINE IN THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE. THE PILOT HELD AN INVALID MEDICAL CERTIFICATE.

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: 425 hours in all
  • Medical certificate: Class 3 (invalid medical for flight)
  • Seat: unk

The aircraft

  • Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
  • Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
  • Seats: 4
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Lycoming O-360-A3A (piston); 0 hours total

The flight

  • Departed from: C Tampa FL
  • Flight plan: none
  • Runway 0

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Visibility: 3 statute miles
  • Sky: not recorded
  • Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew1

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.