Cessna 172N accident near Elko, Nevada, November 4, 1983
On November 4, 1983 at about 8:00 am local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N739YL, was destroyed in an accident near Elko, Nevada. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were 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
- November 4, 1983 · about 8:00 am local time
- Place
- Elko, Nevada · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N739YL · no longer on the register · serial 17270912
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN WHILE ON A DEER SPOTTING FLT. THERE WERE NO WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT. ABOUT 8 HOURS AFTER DEPARTURE THE ACFT WAS DECLARED MISSING. THE ACFT WAS FOUND THE FOLLOWING DAY AT ABOUT 0730 HOURS BY AIR SEARCH ACFT. GROUND SCARS INDICATE THAT THE ACFT IMPACTED IN ABOUT A 30 DEGREE RIGHT WING DOWN AND 5 DEGREE NOSE UP ATTITUDE. THE TERRAIN WAS SLOPING 30 DEGREES UPWARD AT POINT OF IMPACT. THE ACFT TRAVELED ABOUT 64 FT AFTER IMPACT. THE FLAPS WERE EXTENDED--RIGHT 10 DEGREES DOWN, LEFT 50 DEGREES DOWN. THE DAMAGE TO THE PROPELLER INDICATED POWER WAS BEING DEVELOPED AT TIME OF IMPACT. CONTINUITY OF THE FLT CONTROL CABLES WAS ESTABLISHED. POST-MORTEM AND TOXICOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS COULD NOT BE PERFORMED DUE TO FIRE AFTER IMPACT.
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 single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 16,081 hours in all; 96 in the last 90 days; 15,936 as pilot in command; 2,231 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,762 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 15, 1983; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ELY Ely NV at 5:30 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:00 pm from EKO, 30 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.