Cessna 421C accident near Gunnison, Colorado, March 18, 1983
On March 18, 1983 at about 11:45 pm local time, a Cessna 421C, registered N67943, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gunnison, Colorado (Gunnison airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 7 people were 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
- March 18, 1983 · about 11:45 pm local time
- Place
- Gunnison, Colorado · Gunnison · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421C · all 421Cs on the register
- Registration
- N67943 · no longer on the register · serial 421C1036
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT BEGAN TAKING OFF ON RWY 06 WITH A WIND FROM 190 DEG AT 8 KTS. HE STATED THAT MAX POWER & RPM WERE OBTAINED. HE NOTED THAT HE OBTAINED 39 INCHES OF MANIFOLD PRESSURE & 2235 RPM AT 100 KTS IAS. REPORTEDLY, THE ACFT ROTATED PROPERLY, BUT BEGAN TO VIBRATE & SHUDDER & WOULD NOT LIFT OFF. THE PLT THEN LOWERED THE NOSE & ACCELERATED TO 110 KTS IAS. HOWEVER, AGAIN, THE ACFT WOULD ONLY VIBRATE & SHUDDER & WOULD NOT LIFT OFF. THE PLT THEN BEGAN ABORTING THE TAKEOFF. THE ACFT WENT OFF THE END OF THE RWY AT 70 TO 80 KTS & BECAME AIRBORNE FOR APRX 75 FT AS IT WENT OVER A DROP OFF IN THE TERRAIN. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT LANDED IN SOFT SOIL & HIGH GRASS WHERE THE GEAR COLLAPSED. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE TEMP WAS 30 DEG & SNOW WAS FALLING. THE PLT BELIEVED THE ACCIDENT RESULTED FROM COLD TEMPS ALONG WITH WATER BLOWN ONTO THE TAIL SURFACES OF THE ACFT. HE DID NOT DESCRIBE THE SURFACE CONDITION ON THE WINGS. STALL SPEED FOR THIS ACFT WAS 86 KTS AT THE MAX GROSS WT & WAS WITH WT & BALANCE LIMITS.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,117 hours in all; 348 in this make and model; 59 in the last 90 days; 1,383 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 684 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 8, 1982
- Maximum gross weight: 7,450 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-N (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GUC Gunnison CO at 4:45 pm
- Destination: OUN Norman OK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 6, 7,198 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 5,000 ft; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 pm from GUC
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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.