Beech 19A accident near New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, September 17, 1983
On September 17, 1983 at about 4:30 pm local time, a Beech 19A, registered N2330U, was destroyed in an accident near New Cumberland, Pennsylvania (Capital City airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- September 17, 1983 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- New Cumberland, Pennsylvania · Capital City · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Beech 19A · all 19As on the register
- Registration
- N2330U · no longer on the register · serial MB 448
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AN OPERATIONS MANAGER STATED THAT 3 PERSONS CAME TO BUY A SIGHT-SEEING. PLEASURE RIDE & THE PLT SELECTED THE BEECH 19A. DURING ITS TAKEOFF, WITNESSES OBSERVED THE ACFT OVER THE END OF THE RWY IN A NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE, BUT WITH VERY LITTLE CLIMB RATE. ACCORDING TO THEM, THE ENG SOUNDED NORMAL AT THAT TIME. REPORTEDLY, THE ACFT CONTINUED TO CLIMB TO ABOUT 200 TO 300 FT AGL, THEN STARTED TO DESCEND IN A NOSE HI ATTITUDE. MOMENTS BEFORE CRASHING, THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED IN A STEEP RIGHT TURN, ALIGNING WITH A STREET. WHILE DESCENDING, THE ACFT STRUCK & SEVERED A POWER LINE. IT THEN IMPACTED THE STREET, SLID TO A STOP & BURNED. DURING THE CRASH SEQUENCE ANOTHER TRANSMISSION CABLE WAS ALSO HIT. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO PREIMPACT, MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION. THE ACFT WAS ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT 176 LBS OVER ITS MAX CERTIFICATED GROSS WT LIMIT.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 316 hours in all; 4 in this make and model; 1 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 253 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,957 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 1, 1983; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,250 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Capitol City Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: CXY Harrisburg PA at 12:28 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30, 3,895 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:39 pm from CXY, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.