North American AT-6D accident near Granville, Pennsylvania, January 5, 1983
On January 5, 1983 at about 6:34 pm local time, a North American AT-6D, registered N29947, was destroyed in an accident near Granville, Pennsylvania. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 5, 1983 · about 6:34 pm local time · cases in 1983
- Place
- Granville, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- North American AT-6D · all AT-6Ds on the register
- Registration
- N29947 · registry record · serial 42-85697A
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AIRCRAFT ON CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT RAN OUT OF FUEL AND MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN A FIELD AND COLLIDED WITH A FEW SCATTERED APPLE TREES. IRONICALLY THERE WAS AN AIRPORT ADJACENT TO THE LANDING SITE. THE PILOT HAD ENCOUNTERED CLOUD COVER AT HIS DESTINATION AND DIVERTED TO PHILIPSBURG. HE WAS ADVISED BY RADIO THAT PHILIPSBURG HAD NO FUEL SO HE DECIDED TO GO TO UNIVERSITY PARK. AFTER DESCENDING THROUGH SCATTERED CLOUDS INTO THE WRONG VALLEY AND NOT SEEING THE AIRPORT THE PILOT SAW AN OPEN FIELD AND HEADED FOR IT. ENROUTE THE AIRCRAFT RAN OUT OF FUEL. THE PILOT LANDED WITH GEAR AND FLAPS UP. THE RIGHT WING WAS TORN OFF BY A TREE
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,600 hours in all; 1,185 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 5,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,517 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 1, 1982; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R1430 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EKM Elkhart IN at 3:40 pm
- Destination: UNV State College PA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under N29947 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
- N29947 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- North American AT-6 Texan 228 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- North American 1,297 aircraft on the register
- Engine: P&W R1430 · as the NTSB recorded it
- Elkhart Municipal · departed from
- State College Regional · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Pennsylvania 1,836 since 1982 · 234 in the last ten years
- Pennsylvania 6,194 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N29947 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/NYC83LA048.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.