Piper PA-28 accident near St. Marys, Georgia, April 17, 1983
On April 17, 1983 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-28, registered CGBOA, was substantially damaged in an accident near St. Marys, Georgia (St. Marys airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 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 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
- April 17, 1983 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- St. Marys, Georgia · St. Marys · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28 · all PA-28s on the register
- Registration
- CGBOA · no longer on the register · serial 288016223
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE CANADIAN PRIVATE PILOT (PLT) & HIS CANADIAN INSTRUCTOR (CFI) WERE ON A TRAINING FLT, PRACTICING A SOFT FIELD, TOUCH-AND-GO LANDING. (THE PLT WAS IN TRAINING FOR A COMMERCIAL CERTIFICATE.) WHILE LANDING IN A X-WIND, THE PLT ALLOWEDTHE ACFT TO CONTACT THE RWY 3 TIMES, WITH THE LAST TOUCHDOWN BEING HARDER THAN INTENDED. THE PLT SAW TREES AT THE END OF THE RWY & ELECTED TO ABORT THE TAKEOFF PORTION OF THE TOUCH-AND-GO. HE APPLIED BRAKES, AND WHEN THE CFI REALIZED THE SITUATION, THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT RWY REMAINING TO TAKEOFF OR TO STOP WITHOUT OVERRUNNING. THE ACFT CONTINUED OFF THE RWY & HIT A DITCH.
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, foreign licence
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine
- Flight time: 595 hours in all; 62 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 533 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 9, 1983; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,325 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D3G (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Boreal
The flight
- Departed from: 09J at 4:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 5,000 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 pm from SSI, 25 miles away
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.