Cessna 172N accident near Pineville, Louisiana, February 23, 1983
On February 23, 1983 at about 8:47 am local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N4862G, was destroyed in an accident near Pineville, Louisiana (Esler Regional airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 23, 1983 · about 8:47 am local time
- Place
- Pineville, Louisiana · Esler Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N4862G · no longer on the register · serial 17273409
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE OWNER, AN INSTRUCTOR PLT (CFI), WAS IN THE RIGHT FRONT SEAT & A PRIVATE PLT WITH NO INSTRUMENT RATING WAS IN THE LEFT FRONT SEAT. DURING ARRIVAL, THE AIRCREW HAD INQUIRED ABOUT THE WX AT THE ESLER REGIONAL ARPT, HOWEVER, THE FSS & THE UNICOM HAD CLOSED EARLIER THAT NIGHT & CURRENT WX OBSERVATIONS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. AT THAT TIME, THE ENGLAND AFB WX WAS CLEAR, VISIBILITY 3 MI WITH FOG. THE AIRCREW ELECTED TO MAKE AN APCH TO 'SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.' DURING AN ILS APCH AT NIGHT, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES. INITIAL IMPACT OCCURRED WITH A TREE LIMB APRX 40 FT AGL. AT APRX 0247 CDT, 2 WITNESSES HEARD THE ACFT FLYING LOW OVER THEIR HOMES, JUST BEFORE CRASHING. THEY REPORTED THE ENG SOUNDED NORMAL PRIOR TO IMPACT. ONE WITNESS, A HIGHWAY PATROLMAN LESS THAN 150 YARDS FROM THE CRASH SITE, REPORTED THE ACCIDENT & INITIATED A SEARCH, BUT WAS DELAYED IN FINDING THE ACFT DUE TO DARKNESS & FOG. THE 0300 CDT WX AT ENGLAND AFB WAS 600 FTOVERCAST, PARTIAL OBSCURATION WITH FOG. THE CFI HAD BEEN AWAKE SINCE 0400 THE PREV DAY, CONTD TRIP TO GET BACK TO WORK.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 925 hours in all; 155 in this make and model; 45 in the last 90 days; 23 in the last 30 days; 758 as pilot in command; 125 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 873 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 4, 1982; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PFN Panama City FL
- Destination: ESF Alexandria LA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26, 6,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 300° at 6 knots
- Sky: overcast at 600 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:00 am from AEX, 18 miles away
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.
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.