Piper PA-32R-300 accident near Ypsilanti, Michigan, October 6, 1983
On October 6, 1983 at about 3:50 am local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N47519, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ypsilanti, Michigan (Willow Run airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- October 6, 1983 · about 3:50 am local time
- Place
- Ypsilanti, Michigan · Willow Run · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N47519 · no longer on the register · serial 32R-7880011
- 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 ACFT WAS STRUCK BY A TRUCK AS IT TAXIED ON THE RAMP AFTER LANDING. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED THE TRUCK LEFT A 25 FT SKID MARK AS IT CAME OUT FROM AN AREA OF PARKED ACFT AND STRUCK N47519.
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: 2,080 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 153 in the last 90 days; 1,933 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,552 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 1, 1983
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Buffalo NY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 06
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 10,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.