Cessna 182Q accident near Columbus, New Mexico, October 27, 1983
On October 27, 1983 at about 7:20 am local time, a Cessna 182Q, registered N735CP, was destroyed in an accident near Columbus, New Mexico. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- October 27, 1983 · about 7:20 am local time
- Place
- Columbus, New Mexico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182Q · all 182Qs on the register
- Registration
- N735CP · registry record · serial 18265321
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PLT DEPARTED IMPERIAL, CA, AT 2010 PDT, & SHORTLY THEREAFTER, WAS IDENTIFIED & FOLLOWED BY A U.S. CUSTOMS SPECIAL MISSION ACFT. THE ACFT WAS FOLLOWED TO DEMMING, NM. DURING THAT PORTION OF THE FLT, ITS ALTITUDE VARIED FROM ABOUT 500 FT AGL TO 16,000 FT MSL. AT ONE POINT DURING THE FLT, THE ACFT WAS FLOWN AT NEAR THE STALL SPEED. WHILE EN ROUTE, THE PLT FLEW IN & OUT OFF THE CLOUDS. WHEN HE ARRIVED OVER DEMMING, HE MADE TWO 360 DEG TURNS & WAS OBSERVED IN A DESCENDING SPIRAL THRU 9000 FT. THE ACFT CONTINUED FLYING UNTIL IT IMPACTED A 5200 FT MOUNTAINABOUT 23 MI EAST OF COLUMBUS, NM AT AN ELEVATION OF APRX 4750 FT. IMPACT OCCURRED IN STRAIGHT & LEVEL FLT. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF A PREIMPACT, MECHANICAL PROBLEM. APRX 40 MI ESE AT EL PASO, TX, THE 0248 MDT WX WAS: 800 FT SCATTERED, 3300 FT BROKEN, VISIBILITY 7 MI (ELEVATION 3956 FT). THE AREA FORECAST CALLED FOR SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS & RAIN SHOWERS WITH MOUNTAINS OCCASIONALLY OBSCURED.
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: 170 hours in all; 8 in this make and model; 6 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 80 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 11, 1983; 13 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-U (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hawthorne Aviation Service
The flight
- Departed from: IPL Imperial CA at 3:10 am
- Destination: ELP El Paso TX
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 060° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds; scat
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:48 am from ELP, 40 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.