Piper PA-18-150 accident near Roswell, New Mexico, April 30, 1983
On April 30, 1983 at about 8:25 pm local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N82946, was substantially damaged in an accident near Roswell, New Mexico (Rosewell Industrial Ctr. airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. 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
- April 30, 1983 · about 8:25 pm local time
- Place
- Roswell, New Mexico · Rosewell Industrial Ctr. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
- Registration
- N82946 · registry record · serial 7809030
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE CFI STATED, THE ACFT WAS LINED UP ON THE CENTER LINE AT THE END OF RUNWAY 17. THE STUDENT PILOT APPLIED POWER AND THE ACFT VEERED TO THE LEFT, HE OVER-CORRECTED TO THE RIGHT. HE FURTHER STATED, 'I REDUCED THE POWER TO IDLE AS THE RIGHT LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED AND WE SLID TO A STOP.'
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,648 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 117 in the last 90 days; 6,593 as pilot in command; 11 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 507 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 7, 1983; 31 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,625 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Aeronautics INC.
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 10,004 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 28°F (-2°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 N82946 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.