Cessna 180A accident near Topeka, Kansas, November 17, 1983
On November 17, 1983 at about 2:30 pm local time, a Cessna 180A, registered N7814A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Topeka, Kansas (Phillip Billard Muni airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 17, 1983 · about 2:30 pm local time · cases in 1983
- Place
- Topeka, Kansas · Phillip Billard Muni · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180A · all 180As on the register
- Registration
- N7814A · registry record · serial 32711
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT VEERED OFF THE RWY INTO THE GRASS AND COLLAPSED THE MAIN LANDING GEAR DURING TAKEOFF. THE PILOTS SEAT SLID AFT AS THE ACFT ACCELERATED AND THE PILOT LOST CONTROL OF THE ACFT. THE ACFT VEERED OFF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY INTO THE GRASS. THE PILOT INDICATED THAT HE ADJUSTED HIS SEAT BEFORE TAKEOFF AND HAD TO FORCE THE SEAT LOCKING PIN INTO POSITION.
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: 3,300 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 14 in the last 90 days; 3,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,365 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 18, 1983; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: H64 Lamar MO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 5,099 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:45 pm from FOE, 6 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.
Other NTSB records under N7814A the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N7814A on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 180 Skywagon 2,605 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,684 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental O-470-K 13 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Philip Billard Municipal · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Kansas 1,146 since 1982 · 149 in the last ten years
- Kansas 5,738 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N7814A 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/MKC84LA026.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.