Cessna 207 accident near Put-In-Bay, Ohio, December 10, 1983
On December 10, 1983 at about 2:30 am local time, a Cessna 207, registered N208JP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Put-In-Bay, Ohio. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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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
- December 10, 1983 · about 2:30 am local time
- Place
- Put-In-Bay, Ohio
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N208JP · registry record · serial T20700060
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT & 3 PASSENGERS TOOK OFF AT NIGHT ON AN OVER WATER FLT TO AN ISLAND IN LAKE ERIE TO PROVIDE HELP TO A HEART PATIENT. NO FLT PLAN WAS FILED & NO RECORD OF A WX BRIEFING WAS FOUND. REPORTEDLY, AFTER TAKEOFF, THE ACFT DISAPPEARED IN A CLOUD OR HAZE. ALSO AFTER DEPARTING, SHERIFF'S PERSONNEL RECEIVED A RADIO CALL FROM THE ACFT STATING 'WE ARE IN IT.' ACCORDING TO LOCAL RESIDENTS, THERE WAS PATCHY FOG IN THE AREA. WHEN THE ACFT DID NOT ARRIVE AT ITS DESTINATION, A SEARCH WAS INITIATED. THE PLANE WAS FOUND IN LAKE ERIE ALONG THE EXPECTED ROUTE OF FLT. THE ACFT WAS INTACT, EXCEPT THE ENG WAS LOOSE FROM THE FIREWALL & THERE WAS MAJOR DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT, OUTER WING PANEL. NO PREIMPACT/MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION/FAILURE WAS FOUND. ABOUT 45 MI WEST AT TOLEDO, OH, THE 2150 WX IN PART WAS: 1500 FT OVERCAST, VISIBILITY VARIABLE 1 TO 2 MI WITH FOG, TEMP 32, DEW POINT 31, WIND FROM 330 DEG AT 4 KTS.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 809 hours in all; 54 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 671 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,534 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 4, 1983; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Island Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: OH30 Put-In-Bay OH at 2:25 am
- Destination: 89D Kelleys Island OH
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 330° at 4 knots
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from TOL, 45 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 CHI84FA058.