Cessna 182 accident near Hanksville, Utah, October 14, 1983
On October 14, 1983 at about 3:00 am local time, a Cessna 182, registered N3254Y, was destroyed in an accident near Hanksville, Utah. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. 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
- October 14, 1983 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Hanksville, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182 · all 182s on the register
- Registration
- N3254Y · no longer on the register · serial 18254245
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THERE WERE TWO PILOTS ABOARD THIS ACFT WHICH IMPACTED IN A STEEP NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE ON A PLATEAU AT 5000 FT MSL. FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS ESTABLISHED. THE PILOT WAS RECENTLY CERTIFICATED & HIS CLASS III MEDICAL HAD EXPIRED. THE SECOND PILOT HELD A COMMERCIAL CERTIFICATE & AN INSTRUMENT RATING. HIS RECENT EXPERIENCE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE CRASH SITE WAS IN AN AREA WITH NO SIGNIFICANT LIGHTS CREATING A 'BLACK HOLE.' ONE PROPELLER BLADE WAS TWISTED & BENT WITH SCRATCHES ON THE CAMBER SIDE & A FILAMENT FROM A NAVIGATION LIGHT WAS STRETCHED. THE ACFT WAS NOT CERTIFIED FOR ICING CONDITIONS & HAD NOT BEEN INSPECTED FOR INSTRUMENT FLIGHT. A METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY INDICATES THAT THE AREA OF THE ACCIDENT AT THE APPROXIMATE TIME OF THE FLIGHT WOULD HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO THUNDERSTORMS WITH RAIN SHOWERS, LIGHT TO MODERATE TURBULENCE, FLIGHT VISIBILITY 0 MILES IN CLOUDS. NO WEATHER BRIEFING WAS OBTAINED.
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
- Flight time: 141 hours in all; 141 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 106 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,411 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 1, 1983
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TRM Thermal CA
- Destination: U20 Green River UT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 200° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N3254Y the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.