Piper PA-31-300 accident near Charlotte, North Carolina, November 15, 1983
On November 15, 1983 at about 7:36 am local time, a Piper PA-31-300, registered N6459L, was destroyed in an accident near Charlotte, North Carolina (Douglas International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. 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
- November 15, 1983 · about 7:36 am local time
- Place
- Charlotte, North Carolina · Douglas International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-300 · all PA-31-300s on the register
- Registration
- N6459L · registry record · serial 31-415
- 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
THE ACFT WAS FIRST RADAR IDENTIFIED ABOUT 18 MI NORTH OF THE ARPT & WAS GIVEN RADAR VECTORS FOR A RIGHT DOWNWIND & BASE TO RWY 36R. WHILE ON A DOWNWIND HEADING 150 DEG, THE PLT WAS ASSIGNED A HEADING OF 270 DEG & WAS QUERIED IF THE ARPT WASIN SIGHT. THE PLT RESPONDED '...WE GOT IT.' HOWEVER, RADAR DATA SHOWS THE ACFT CONTINUING THE TURN THROUGH 270 DEG TO ABOUT 350 DEG. AFTER ABOUT 1/2 MI, THE ACFT TURNED LEFT TO 250 DEG DESCENDING. THE TURN CONTINUED TO A SW HEADING APPROXIMATELY ALIGNED WITH A CITY STREET THAT PASSES SOUTH OF THE ARPT ON A COURSE OF 250 DEG. THE ALTITUDE DECREASED WITH A CONSISTENT RATE TO 900 FT WHEN RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST. ELEV AT THE APCH END OF RWY 36R IS 724 FT. WRECKAGE DISTRIBUTION WAS ALONG A 245 DEG HEADING. A FLT INSPECTION OF THE RWY 36R EDGE LIGHTS AT NIGHT DURING VFR CONDITIONS INDICATED THE LIGHTS WERE NOT VISIBLE BEYOND 30 DEG OF THE RWY CENTERLINE. THE PLT GOT UP AT 0730 ON 11/14.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,950 hours in all; 1,870 in this make and model; 294 in the last 90 days; 96 in the last 30 days; 11,550 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,267 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 13, 1983; 96 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-M1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: INT Winston Salem NC at 6:40 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 36R, 7,845 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 080° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:50 am from CLT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.