Cessna C-172M accident near Chesapeake, Virginia, December 17, 1983
On December 17, 1983 at about 11:15 pm local time, a Cessna C-172M, registered N4275R, was destroyed in an accident near Chesapeake, Virginia (Cheasapeake Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- December 17, 1983 · about 11:15 pm local time
- Place
- Chesapeake, Virginia · Cheasapeake Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna C-172M
- Registration
- N4275R · no longer on the register · serial 17263052
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACRT CRASHED INTO A LAKE WHILE MAKING A LOW PASS WHEN THE PLT WAS DISTRACTED BY A PASSENGER DOOR THAT WOULD NOT STAY LATCHED. THE ACFT COLLIDED WHILE TURNING AND THE PLT STATED THAT HE WAS TRYING TO HELP THE PASSENGER CLOSE THE DOOR. HE ALSO STATED THAT HE WAS DISTRACTED BY REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER AND HIS NEXT CONSCIOUS MOMENT WAS BEING IN THE WATER STILL STRAPPED TO THE SEAT. NEITHER OF THE TWO OCCUPANTS HAD THEIR SHOULDER HARNESS FASTENED. THE PASSENGERWAS KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS AND DROWNED.
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: 160 hours in all; 61 in this make and model; 113 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,826 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 12, 1983; 53 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E20 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: W36 Cheasapeake VA at 10:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 030° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:50 pm from ORF, 22 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.