Cessna 172 accident near Osage Beach, Missouri, November 3, 1983
On November 3, 1983 at about 5:15 pm local time, a Cessna 172, registered N55461, was substantially damaged in an accident near Osage Beach, Missouri (Linn Creek-Grand Glaize airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- November 3, 1983 · about 5:15 pm local time
- Place
- Osage Beach, Missouri · Linn Creek-Grand Glaize · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N55461 · no longer on the register · serial 17275185
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT REPORTED THAT WHILE HE WAS MAKING AN INSTRUMENT APCH IN HEAVY RAIN, THERE WAS A PARIAL LOSS OF ENG POWER. HE APPLIED CARBURETOR HEAT, BUT REPORTED THAT THE ENG STILL DID NOT PROVIDE FULL POWER. HE CONTINUED THE VOR/DME APCH. WHEN HE SAW THE RWY, HE DECIDED THAT HE WAS TOO HIGH TO LAND. REPORTEDLY, HE ENTERED A DOWNWIND & LANDED WITH FULL FLAPS ON RWY 32. THE PLT STATED THAT HE WAS TOO FAST, AND THAT AFTER TOUCHDOWN, THE ACFT BEGAN HYDROPLANING. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE PLANE CONTINUED OFF THE END OF THE RWY, HIT A DITCH & NOSED OVER. THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE DECIDED NOT TO GO AROUND SINCE HE CONSIDERED THE ENG WAS UNRELIABLE & THERE WERE HIGH OBSTRUCTIONS OFF THE END OF THE RWY. HE REPORTED THE WIND WAS FROM 070 DEG AT 6 KTS. APRX 55 MI EAST AT ROLLA, MO, THE 1148 CDT WX WAS, IN PART: 600 SCT, 6000 OVC, VSBY 5 MI WITH FOG, WIND 160 DEG AT 10 KTS, TEMP 64, DEN POINT 62. ACCORDING TO ICING PROBABILITY CHARTS, SERIOUS CARBURETOR ICING COULD BE ENCOUNTERED AT CRUISE POWER WITH FLOAT TYPE CARBURETORS.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 720 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 90 in the last 90 days; 550 as pilot in command; 220 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 719 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 22, 1983; 41 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Pilot Aviation Charter
The flight
- Departed from: MKC Kansas City MO at 3:45 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 32, 3,205 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 6,000 ft; scat at 600 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:55 pm from VIH, 55 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.