Dg 400 accident near Morrisville, Vermont, June 5, 1983
On June 5, 1983 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Dg 400 (glider), registered N430LT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Morrisville, Vermont (Morrisville airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- June 5, 1983 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Morrisville, Vermont · Morrisville
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Dg 400
- Registration
- N430LT · no longer on the register · serial 4-32
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE MOTORIZED GLIDER WAS TAXIING WHEN THE LEFT WING TIP CAUGHT IN HIGH GRASS AND THE ACFT VEERED TO THE LEFT AND PENETRATED A BARBED WIRE FENCE.
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, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 400 hours in all; 10 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 390 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BTV
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19, 2,700 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°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.