Piper PA-28-180 accident near Cedar Lake, Indiana, November 14, 1993
On November 14, 1993 at about 6:20 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-180, registered N32303, was destroyed in an accident near Cedar Lake, Indiana. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the failure of the pilot to maintain proper altitude. A factor related to the accident was flight into known adverse weather by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 14, 1993 · about 6:20 pm local time
- Place
- Cedar Lake, Indiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-180 · all PA-28-180s on the register
- Registration
- N32303 · registry record · serial 28-7505047
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private, instrument rated, pilot had waited at the fixed base operator's facility for several hours to go flying. When he signed out the airplane, an employee stated the pilot said: 'I'm going up to do a cloud check.' There was no record of a weather brief being given to the pilot by the Kankakee Automated Flight Service Station. A flight instructor who had been practicing for a Part 135 flight check and landed five minutes before the pilot took off, reported the ceiling was 700 feet overcast. There was also light rain and fog in the vicinity. The airplane crashed in an open field. The property owner where the airplane crashed reported: 'The motor was really buzzing, and it sounded like an explosion when it hit.' The attitude was wings level. The wreckage came to rest 210 feet from the point of initial impact facing opposite the direction of travel. The examination of the wreckage did not reveal any malfunction of the engine or airframe.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 475 hours in all; 225 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,631 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 27, 1993; 88 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,450 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3HA Lansing IL at 5:55 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 600 ft; not recorded at 600 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:45 pm from GYY, 15 miles away
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.