Cessna 175B accident near Burbank, California, October 5, 1983
On October 5, 1983 at about 1:15 am local time, a Cessna 175B, registered N8146T, was destroyed in an accident near Burbank, California (Burbank airport). 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 5, 1983 · about 1:15 am local time
- Place
- Burbank, California · Burbank · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 175B · all 175Bs on the register
- Registration
- N8146T · registry record · serial 17556846
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
RELATIVES EXPECTED THE PLT TO RETURN HOME ON THE EVENING OF 10/4/83. WHEN HE DID NOT RETURN, RELATIVES REPORT THE ACFT WAS OVERDUE. THE ACFT WAS FOUND WHERE IT COLLIDED WITH A MOUNTAIN AT AN ELEVATION OF ABOUT 3580 FT, 10 MI NORTH OF THE DESTINATION ARPT. THERE WERE NO KNOWN WITNEESES TO THE ACCIDENT. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THE ACFT HAD DEPARTED BIG BEAR, CA AT ABOUT 1715 PDT. ABOUT 15 MI WEST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, A PERSON SAW AN ACFT, MATCHING THE DESCRIPTION OF N8146T. ACCORDING TO HER, THE ACFT WAS OVER INTERSTATE 5, HEADED TOWARD BURBANK, CA. IN HER OPINION, THE PLT WAS TRYING TO GET OVER NEWHALL PASS, CIRCLED 3 OR 4 TIMES. THEN DEPARTED TO THE EAST. SHE REPORTED INTERMITTENT RAIN & ABOUT 1000 FT CEILING. AT ABOUT 1830, AN ATP PLT REPORTED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. AT 1845, THE WX AT BURBANK WAS 1300 FT OVERCAST, 4 MI VISIBILITY WITH HAZE. THE ELEVATION OF THE BURBANK ARPT WAS ABOUT 3000 FT LOWER THAN THE ACCIDENT SITE. NO RECORD OF A PREFLT WX BRIEFING WAS FOUND. IMPACT OCCURRED ON 50 DEG RISING TERRAIN.
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: 12,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 12,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,831 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 1, 1982; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental GO-300-ACD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: L35 Big Bear CA
- Destination: BUR Burbank CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 170° at 5 knots
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.