Piper PA-31-310 accident near Kirksville, Missouri, November 12, 1983
On November 12, 1983 at about 1:45 am local time, a Piper PA-31-310, registered N9117Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kirksville, Missouri. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. 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 12, 1983 · about 1:45 am local time
- Place
- Kirksville, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-310 · all PA-31-310s on the register
- Registration
- N9117Y · no longer on the register · serial PA31-156
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER TAKING OFF & CLIMBING TO 2000 FT, THE PLT HEARD A 'THUD.' HE REDUCED POWER & DETECTED NO MECHANICAL OR CONTROL PROBLEM & CONTINUED TO KIRKVILLE, MO. AFTER LANDING, DAMAGE & EVIDENCE OF A BIRD STRIKE WERE FOUND ON THE LEADING EDGE OF THE RIGHT WING.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,197 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 4,582 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,751 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 4, 1983; 19 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: STL St. Louis MO at 1:35 am
- Destination: IRK Kirksville MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 030° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:51 am from STL, 12 miles away
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.