Cassutt 3-M accident near Mesa, Arizona, September 10, 1983
On September 10, 1983 at about 6:45 pm local time, a Cassutt 3-M, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N2309E, was destroyed in an accident near Mesa, Arizona. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
- September 10, 1983 · about 6:45 pm local time
- Place
- Mesa, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cassutt 3-M, amateur-built
- Registration
- N2309E · no longer on the register · serial 12345
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A STREET LAMP WHILE PULLING UP FROM A LOW PASS OVER A DRY RIVER BED. THIS EXPERIMENTAL AMATEUR BUILT ACFT WAS OPERATING OUTSIDE THE PRESCRIBED BOUNDARIES FOR THIS ACFT. WITNESSES DISAGREED ON THE ENGINE SOUNDS. SOMEDESCRIBED THE ENGINE AS LOUD AND STRONG. OTHERS SAID IT WAS SPUTTERING AND MISSING. ALL AGREED THAT THE ACFT FLEW LOW (ABOUT 50-75 FT AGL) OVER THE RIVERBED. AFTER THE ACCIDENT BOTH FUEL TANK INDICATORS READ EMPTY. THE MAIN FUEL TANK WAS PUNCTURED. THE AUX TANK CONTAINED ABOUT 1/8 GALLON OF FUEL. NO FUELING INFORMATION COULD BE OBTAINED. THE FUELING FACILITY AT FALCON FIELD HAD NO RECORD OF ANY PURCHASE BY THE PLT. THE PROPELLER WAS METAL AND PRESENTED EXTREME TWISTING WITH MULTIPLE UNDIFFERENTIATED GOUGES AND SCRATCHES BOTH BLADES WERE BENT FOWARD AND THE TOP OF ONE BLADE WAS MISSING.
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: 1,000 hours in all; 13 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 83 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, June 16, 1983; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 750 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: P16 Mesa AZ at 6:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 45 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 99°F (37°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:45 pm from PHX, 15 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.