Convair 440 accident near Rock Springs, Wyoming, December 20, 1983
On December 20, 1983 at about 4:22 am local time, a Convair 440, registered N73162, was substantially damaged in an accident near Rock Springs, Wyoming (Sweetwater County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 33 people were on board or involved. 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
- December 20, 1983 · about 4:22 am local time
- Place
- Rock Springs, Wyoming · Sweetwater County
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 33 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Convair 440 · all 440s on the register
- Registration
- N73162 · no longer on the register · serial 361
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
COMBS AIRWAYS, FLT 709, COLLIDED WITH A SNOW BANK DURING THE LANDING ROLL AT SWEETWATER COUNTY APRT. THE CAPT REPORTED THAT 'IMMEDIATELY AFTER TOUCHDOWN, THE ACFT VEERED LEFT, STRUCK A SNOW BANK, THEN VEERED TO THE RIGHT 180 DEG COMING TO REST ON THE RWY FACING TO THE EAST.' THE PROP & GEAR BOX SEPARATED FROM THE RIGHT ENG. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF A MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE PRIOR TO THE ACDNT. THE ARPT MANAGER REPORTED THAT SNOW SHOWERS & DRIFTING SNOW HAD ALMOST TOTALLY COVERED THE RWY MARKINGS, INCLUDING THE RWY CENTERLINE. SNOW PLOWING OPERATIONS HAD BEEN IN EFFECT ON THE DAY OF THE ACDNT. THE CENTER OF THE PLOWED AREA WAS SEVERAL FEET TO THE RIGHT OF THE RWY CENTERLINE. NUMEROUS FINGER DRIFTS WERE PRESENT FROM THE LEFT EDGE OF THE PLOWED AREA TO THE CENTER OF THE RWY. THERE WERE 2 FT SNOW BANKS ON EACH SIDE OF THE SNOW PLOWED AREA.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,010 hours in all; 210 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 50,736 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 11, 1983; 169 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 54,600 lb
- Seats: 50
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Allison 501-D13 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DEN Denver CO at 3:03 am
- Destination: RKS Rock Springs WY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 10,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 290° at 14 knots
- Sky: not recorded at 300 ft
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:25 am from RKS, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 29 |
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.