Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 accident near Jeffersonville, Georgia, March 24, 1983
On March 24, 1983 at about 7:36 am local time, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-60, registered N72B, was destroyed in an accident near Jeffersonville, Georgia. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- March 24, 1983 · about 7:36 am local time
- Place
- Jeffersonville, Georgia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 · all MU-2B-60s on the register
- Registration
- N72B · no longer on the register · serial 735-SA
- Damage
- Destroyed
- 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 ON THE RETURN PORTION OF A ROUND TRIP FLT, HAULING CANCELED BANK CHECKS. WHEN THEY BOARDED BEFORE TAKEOFF, THE PLT'S WIFE, WHO WAS NOT A PLT, OCCUPIED THE R FRONT SEAT & HIS 2 DAUGHTER'S, AGES 4 & 6, WERE IN THE PASSENGER SEATS. PREVIOUS LEGS OF THE FLT WERE ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT INCIDENT. WHILE EN ROUTE ON THE 4TH LEG, A RADAR HANDOFF WAS MADE FROM JACKSONVILLE TO ATLANTA CENTER AT 0225 EST & THE PLT REPORTED AT FL180. THIS WAS HIS LAST KNOWN TRANSMISSION. AT 0230, THE ATC CONTROLLER NOTED THE ACFT WAS PASSING MACON VOR. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST & EFFORTS TO MAKE RADIO CONTACT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. SEVERAL PERSONS IN THE VICINITY HEARD THE ACFT ENGS ALTERNATELY AT HI SPEED, THEN DEMISHING, BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. THE WRECKAGE WAS FOUND SCATTERED OVER A 2 MI AREA. AN EXAM REVEALED THE R WING HAD FAILED UPWARD & THE L WING & L HORIZONTAL STABILIZER HAD FAILED DOWNWARD FROM OVERLOAD. THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF COURSE REVERSAL & DESCENT BEFORE BREAKUP; LIGHT TURBULENCE & ICING AT CRUISE ALT. REASON FOR DSCNT UNKN.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,747 hours in all; 547 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,575 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JAX Jacksonville FL
- Destination: ATL Atlanta GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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.