Cessna 402B accident near Davenport, Iowa, December 29, 1983
On December 29, 1983 at about 7:48 pm local time, a Cessna 402B, registered N7947Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Davenport, Iowa (Davenport Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 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
- December 29, 1983 · about 7:48 pm local time
- Place
- Davenport, Iowa · Davenport Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402B · all 402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N7947Q · no longer on the register · serial 402B0397
- 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
THE ACFT SKIDDED SIDEWAYS DURING LANDING ON AN ICY RWY. THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED SIDEWAYS WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH A SNOWBANK AT THE RWYS EDGE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,326 hours in all; 436 in this make and model; 143 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 8,209 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,609 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 29, 1983; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSI0-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DSM Des Moines IA at 7:48 pm
- Destination: DVN Davenport IA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 21, 4,001 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 10°F (-12°C), dew point 5°F (-15°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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 N7947Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.