Piper PA 28R-200 accident near Copan, Oklahoma, August 31, 1983
On August 31, 1983 at about 5:17 am local time, a Piper PA 28R-200, registered N1292T, was destroyed in an accident near Copan, Oklahoma. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was 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
- August 31, 1983 · about 5:17 am local time
- Place
- Copan, Oklahoma · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 28R-200 · all PA 28R-200s on the register
- Registration
- N1292T · registry record · serial 28R-723557
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH AN ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION LINE AND BURNED DURING AN EMERGENCY LANDING. THE FLT HAD BEEN IN PROGRESS ONLY AN HOUR WHEN THE PLT LOST HIS ENGINE OIL PRESSURE AND HIS ENGINE FAILED. ATC GAVE HIM A HEADING TO THE NEAREST ARPT BUT HE COULD NOT MAKE IT AND CRASHED ABOUT 7 MILES SHORT. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE FAILED TO REVEAL THE REASON FOR THE MASSIVE OIL LEAK SINCE GASKETS, FLEXIBLE LINES AND ALUMINUM LINES WERE CONSUMED IN THE GROUND FIRE.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,000 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,172 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 17, 1983; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-C1C (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: MKC Kansas City MO
- Destination: OKC Oklahoma City OK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 110° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 8,000 ft; scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:48 am from TUL, 50 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.