Cessna 172N accident near N. Stonington, Connecticut, May 20, 1983
On May 20, 1983 at about 7:12 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N4980G, was destroyed in an accident near N. Stonington, Connecticut. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were seriously injured and 5 people had minor injuries. 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
- May 20, 1983 · about 7:12 pm local time
- Place
- N. Stonington, Connecticut
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured and 5 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N4980G · no longer on the register · serial 17273527
- 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
THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A TREE DURING A GO-AROUND AT NIGHT FOLLOWING A DOWNWIND PRECAUTIONARY LANDING. DURING THE FLT THE PLT HAD NOTED THE FUEL GAUGES AT LOW READINGS AND SAID HE SUSPECTED A 'FUEL LEAK'. HE MADE RADIO CALLS TO TRY TO GO TO AN ARPT BEFORE FUEL EXHAUSTION. SHORTLY AFTER RADIO CONTACT WAS MADE COMMUNICATIONS WERE LOST AND AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE WAS EXPERIENCED. THE PLT DESCENDED BELOW THE CLOUDS. HE ABANDONED ONE APPROACH BECAUSE THE FIELD LOOKED 'SHORT AND SOGGY.' THE NEXT APPROACH TO ANOTHER FIELD WAS MISSED HE SAID BECAUSE OF A TAILWIND. DURING GO-AROUND THE ENGINE QUIT AND THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A TREE. EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT AFTER THE ACCIDENT SHOWED THE ALTERNATOR CIRCUIT BREAKERPOPPED. THE ALTERNATOR WAS REMOVED AND TESTED. IT PRODUCED A VOLTAGE INDICATION AT 700 RPMS TO 4500 RPMS. MAXIMUM VOLTAGE WAS 30 VOLTS. THE LOW VOLTAGE LIGHT BULB WAS INCORRECT AND THE WIRING WAS DISCONNECTED. THE WEATHER AT ACCIDENT TIME WAS CONDUCIVE TO CARBURETOR ICING.
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: 2,510 hours in all; 550 in this make and model; 115 in the last 90 days; 2,295 as pilot in command; 1,728 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 830 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 17, 1983; 74 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Coastal Air Services, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ACK Nantucket MA at 5:45 pm
- Destination: GON Groton CT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 7°F (-14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:18 pm from GON, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 3 | ||
| Passengers | 1 | 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.