Convair 580-11-A accident near Brainerd, Minnesota, January 10, 1983
On January 10, 1983 at about 1:40 am local time, a Convair 580-11-A, registered N8444H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Brainerd, Minnesota (Brainerd Crow Wing CO airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured; 31 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- January 10, 1983 · about 1:40 am local time
- Place
- Brainerd, Minnesota · Brainerd Crow Wing CO · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured; 31 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Convair 580-11-A
- Registration
- N8444H · no longer on the register · serial 327A
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING ARRIVAL, THE ACFT WAS LANDED ABOUT 1725 FT BEYOND THE RWY THRESHOLD. THE TOUCHDOWN WAS MADE WITH THE RIGHT WING DOWN & THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR ABOUT 37 FT FROM THE RIGHT EDGE OF THE RWY. AFTER TOUCHDOWN, THE ACFT CONTINUED TO THE RIGHT & THE RIGHT PROPELLER STRUCK A 2 TO 3 FT HIGH SNOWBANK WHICH WAS BETWEEN THE EDGE OF THE RWY & THE RWY EDGE LIGHTS. THE #1 BLADE SEPARATED FROM THE PROPELLER & ENTERED THE CABIN, FATALLY INJURING 1 PASSENGER & SERIOUSLY INJURING ANOTHER. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT RWY PLOWING ACTIVITIES, 2 DAYS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, HAD LEFT SNOWBANKS AT THE EDGE OF THE RWY INSIDE THE RWY EDGE LIGHTS. THEY HAD NOT BEEN REMOVED PER 14 CFR 139.85 & ARPT OPNS MANUAL. THERE WAS NO NOTAM FOR SNOWBANKS & THE COMPANY STATION MANAGER DID NOT NOTIFY THE AIRCREW ABOUT THEIR LOCATION. THE FLTCREW WERE NOT AWARE THAT WHEN THE 1ST OFFICER DIMMED THE INTENSITY OF THE APCH LIGHTS (BY ACTIVATING THE MIC SWITCH) THAT THE RWY EDGE LIGHTS ALSO DIMMED. THE CAPT BELIEVED HE LOST SOME PERIPHERAL CUES AFTER TOUCHDOWN.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 12,730 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 232 in the last 90 days; 77 in the last 30 days; 1 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 39,511 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 49,700 lb
- Seats: 54
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Allison 501D-13 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Republic Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MSP Minneapolis MN
- Destination: BRD Brainerd MN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 6,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded at 300 ft
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:25 am from BRD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 1 | 28 |
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.