Piper PA-28-181 accident near Ville Platte, Louisiana, August 12, 1983
On August 12, 1983 at about 2:35 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-181, registered N21537, was destroyed in an accident near Ville Platte, Louisiana. It was a personal 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
- August 12, 1983 · about 2:35 pm local time
- Place
- Ville Platte, Louisiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181 · all PA-28-181s on the register
- Registration
- N21537 · no longer on the register · serial 28-7990053
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PRIOR TO TAKEOFF THE PLT HAD RECEIVED A WX BRIEFING & WAS ADVISED THAT VFR FLT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED. HE WAS GIVEN CONVECTIVE SIGMET 13C WHICH CALLED FOR THUNDERSTORMS WITH TOPS ABOVE 45,000 FT THROUGHOUT HIS ROUTE OF FLT. ABOUT 25 MINAFTER TAKEOFF FOUR WITNESSES SAW THE ACFT JUST BEFORE IT CRASHED. TWO STATED THAT THEY SAW THE ACFT IN A TURN AT ABOUT 300 FT WHEN A WING SEPARATED. THE OTHER TWO STATED THAT THE WING HAD ALREADY SEPARATED WHEN THEY SAW THE ACFT. A HEAVY THUNDERSTORM WAS IN PROGRESS AT THE TIME. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED THAT THE RIGHT WING HAD FAILED IN AN UPWARD DIRECTION & BOTH HORIZONTAL STABILATORS HAD SEPARATED DOWNWARD. THE PLT'S BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL WAS 0.136%.
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: 209 hours in all; 5 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 164 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,740 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 27, 1983; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4M (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 9LA6 Alexandria LA
- Destination: CEW Crestview FL
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 700 ft; not recorded at 700 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.