Cessna 182R accident near Springfield, Missouri, October 5, 1983
On October 5, 1983 at about 5:12 am local time, a Cessna 182R, registered N5191E, was destroyed in an accident near Springfield, Missouri (Springfield Reg.). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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
- October 5, 1983 · about 5:12 am local time
- Place
- Springfield, Missouri · Springfield Reg. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182R · all 182Rs on the register
- Registration
- N5191E · no longer on the register · serial 18268298
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT 2346 CDT, KANSAS CITY CENTER PROVIDED THE 2251 CDT SPRINGFIELD WX & ADVSED THE PLT TO EXPECT VECTORS FOR AN APCH TO RWY 1. VECTORS WERE PROVIDED UNTIL 0006;50 CDT, WHEN CENTER ADVISED THAT RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST, 3 MI SOUTH OF THE OUTER MARKER COMPASS LOCATOR. THE PLT WAS CLEARED FOR THE APCH & WAS DIRECTED TO CONTACT SPRINGFIELD RADIO. AT 0008:21 CDT, THE PLT CALLED SPRINGFIELD FSS & ADVISED THAT HE WAS ON THE APLH, BUT WAS UNABLE TO RECEIVE THE OUTER MARKER. THE FSS ADVISED THAT THE COMPASS LOCATOR, GLIDE SLOPE & LOCALIZER WERE MONITORING NORMAL. SHORTLY AFTER THAT, THE ACFT HIT THE TOPS OF TREES & CRASHED, APRX 1200 FT WEST OF THE APCH END OF RWY 1. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE WX HAD DETECIORATED VERY RAPIDLY FROM THE TIME THE PLT WAS CLEARED FOR THE APCH TO THE TME OF THE ACCIDENT. A RENTAL SLIP SHOWED THAT THE ADF & MARKER BEACON WERE NOP ON 9/29/83, BUT NO RECORD WAS FOUND OF EITHER BEING REPAIRED. A SPECIAL WXBULLETIN WAS RECEIVED AT THE FSS, BUT THE SPECIALIST DID NOT HEAR THE WARNING BUZZER. THE PLT WAS ON DUTY NEARLY 15 HRS.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 889 hours in all; 157 in the last 90 days; 74 in the last 30 days; 730 as pilot in command; 121 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 195 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 27, 1982; 90 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-U (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LIT Little Rock AR at 3:39 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 1, 7,003 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:10 am from SGF
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.