Piper PA-22-135 accident near New Hope, Pennsylvania, January 16, 1983
On January 16, 1983 at about 10:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-22-135, registered N8604C, was substantially damaged in an accident near New Hope, Pennsylvania (Buehl Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- January 16, 1983 · about 10:15 pm local time
- Place
- New Hope, Pennsylvania · Buehl Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-22-135 · all PA-22-135s on the register
- Registration
- N8604C · registry record · serial 22-1289
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A POWER LINE WHILE THE PILOT AND A FRIEND IN ANOTHER PLANE WERE FLYING ALONG THE DELEWARE RIVER. THE PLT REPORTED THAT AS HE APPROACHED A BRIDGE, HE CLIMBED TO CLEAR OVER THE BRIDGE AND SOME POWER LINES, THEN STARTED TO DESCEND. HE STATED THAT THE NEXT THING HE REMEMBERED WAS WAKING UP IN THE WATER. HE WAS PULLED FROM THE WATER BY A MAN WHO LIVED NEARBY.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,173 hours in all; 1,040 in this make and model; 21 in the last 90 days; 1,143 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (invalid medical for flight)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,800 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 21, 1982; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: N40 Pittstown NJ at 10:00 pm
- Destination: N54 Langhorne PA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
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.