Cessna 172 accident near Galesburg, Illinois, February 25, 1983
On February 25, 1983 at about 4:50 am local time, a Cessna 172, registered N738HH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Galesburg, Illinois (Galesburg airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 25, 1983 · about 4:50 am local time
- Place
- Galesburg, Illinois · Galesburg
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N738HH · registry record · serial 17269986
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT STATED THAT DURING CRUISE, THE ENGINE STARTED TO RUN ROUGH. HE APPLIED CARBURETOR HEAT & INITIATED EMERGENCY PROCEDURE, AND THEN ENGINE POWER WAS RESTORED. HOWEVER, A SHORT TIME LATER, POWER WAS LOST AGAIN. DURING A FORCED LANDING IN AN OPEN FIELD, THE ACFT ROLLED INTO A STUMP & WAS DAMAGED. AN EXAM OF THE FUEL SYS REVEALED THAT THE FUEL TANKS WERE EMPTY.
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: 106 hours in all; 48 in this make and model; 23 in the last 90 days; 70 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 688 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 17, 1982; 37 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,220 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FWA Fort Wayne IN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 2, 5,793 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 360° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI83LA121.