Piper PA-31-350 accident near Dubuque, Iowa, December 25, 1982
On December 25, 1982 at about 2:30 am local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N4091U, was destroyed in an accident near Dubuque, Iowa. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- December 25, 1982 · about 2:30 am local time
- Place
- Dubuque, Iowa · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N4091U · no longer on the register · serial 318152159
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT 2015 THE FLT CONTACTED ARTCC & REQUESTED DUBUQUE WX. THEY WERE ADVISED THAT DUBUQUE WAS 500 FT INDEFINITE CEILING, SKY OBSCURED, VISIBILITY 1/2 MI FOG & THEY WOULD BE VECTORED FOR A BACK COURSE RWY 13 APCH. THE FLT THEN REQUESTED THE FRONT COURSE APCH TO RWY 31 & THE CONTROLLER ADVISED THE FLT THAT IT WOULD BE VECTORED TO THE ILS FRONT COURSE APPROACH TO RWY 31. APPROXIMATELY 40 SECS LATER THE FLT ADVISED THE CONTROLLER THAT IT WOULD TAKE THE BACK COURSE APCH TO RWY 13.THE LANDING MINIMA FOR A STRAIGHT-IN ILS RWY 31 IS 1/2 MILE VISIBILITY & FOR A STRAIGHT-IN LOC/DME BACK COURSE APCH TO RWY 13 3/4 MILE VISIBILITY. THE ACFT'S WRECKAGE WAS FOUND IN A VALLEY ABOUT 3/4 MILE SHORT OF RWY 13 & APPROXIMATELY 100 FT BELOW THE RWY ELEVATION.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,230 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,548 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: American Central Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: C Des Moines IA at 7:39 pm
- Destination: C Dubuque IA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13, 6,498 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 120° at 8 knots
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 126°F (52°C), dew point 0°F (-18°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.
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.