Piper PA-31-350 accident near Peach Springs, Arizona, August 17, 1983
On August 17, 1983 at about 7:27 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N88LV, was destroyed in an accident near Peach Springs, Arizona (Grand Canyon airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 10 people were killed. 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 17, 1983 · about 7:27 pm local time · cases in 1983
- Place
- Peach Springs, Arizona · Grand Canyon · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 10 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N88LV · registry record · serial 31-7752118
- 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 DEPARTED LAS VEGAS, NV AS THE 2ND OF 5 ACFT ON A SCHEDULED GRAND CANYON SIGHT-SEEING FLT. THE 1ST PORTION OF THE FLT WAS OVER THE LAS VEGAS STRIP AREA & LAKE MEAD & WAS UNEVENTFUL. HOWEVER, WX CONDITIONS PRECLUDED THE PLT FROM CONTINUING OVER THE SHIVWITS PLATEAU. RADIO CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN THE PLT & OTHER COMPANY AIRCREWS INDICATED THAT THE PLT OF N88LV HAD ENCOUNTERED DETERIORATING WX CONDITIONS IN THE CANYON & THAT HE HAD DECIDED TO ABORT THE FLT & CLIMB OUT. LATER ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT THE ACFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. THE WRECKAGE WAS FOUND ON 8/18/83 WHERE THE ACFT HAD COLLIDED ON THE WEST WALL OF A MESA INSIDE THE CANYON. A HELICOPTER PLT FLYING ABOUT 14 MI NORTH OF THE CRASH SITE REPORTED CLOUDS AT GROUND LEVEL (4500 FT MSL). THE ELEVATION OF THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS 6320 FT. SHORTLY BEFORE HIS LAST TRANSMITION, THE PLT STATED HE WAS 'JUST SHORT OF TWIN PEAKS.' THE PLT HAD TRANSMITTED HIS POSITION FROM PEACH VOR, INDICATING HE WAS IN THE AREA OF THE CRASH SITE. TWIN PEAKS WAS NORTHEAST & HAD SIMILAR TERRAIN.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 8,099 hours in all; 1,782 in this make and model; 160 in the last 90 days; 7,266 as pilot in command; 323 on instruments
- Medical certificate: None (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,325 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, August 7, 1983; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming L/TIO-540-J (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Las Vegas Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: VGT Las Vegas NV
- Destination: GCN Grand Canyon AZ
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:45 pm from GCN, 66 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 9 |
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N88LV on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Piper PA-31 Navajo and Chieftain 934 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,840 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming L/TIO-540-J · as the NTSB recorded it
- Grand Canyon Ntl Park Airport · nearest airport
- North Las Vegas Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Arizona 2,985 since 1982 · 466 in the last ten years
- Arizona 8,435 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/DCA83AA034.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.