Cessna 180H accident near Greenville, Maine, May 20, 1983
On May 20, 1983 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Cessna 180H, registered N9052M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Greenville, Maine. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. 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 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Greenville, Maine
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180H · all 180Hs on the register
- Registration
- N9052M · registry record · serial 18052152
- 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 WX WAS ESTIMATED AT 2,000 TO 2,500 FT OVERCAST WHEN THE FLT DEPARTED GREENVILLE AT 1820. HORSESHOE POND IS 1,500 FT MSL & SURROUNDED BY 2,700 FT MOUNTAINS. AS THE ACFT APPROACHED THE PASS THE POND WAS VISIBLE. HOWEVER A SOUTH WIND PREVAILED & FOG HAD ROLLED OVER THE RIDGE ENVELOPING THE PASS. VISIBILITY WAS REDUCED TO NEAR ZERO WITHIN YARDS OF THE POND. THE PLT WAS UNABLE TO TURN AROUND IN THE PASS & MADE A FORCED LANDING IN THE TREE TOPS.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 12,650 hours in all; 3,500 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,200 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 9, 1982; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Greenville ME at 10:20 pm
- Destination: Horseshoe Pond ME
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.