Piper PA-32-260 accident near Westerly, Rhode Island, August 7, 1983
On August 7, 1983 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-260, registered N5533J, was substantially damaged in an accident near Westerly, Rhode Island (Wersterly State airport). 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 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
- August 7, 1983 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Westerly, Rhode Island · Wersterly State
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-260 · all PA-32-260s on the register
- Registration
- N5533J · no longer on the register · serial 32-995
- 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
AFTER LANDING, THE PLT PROCEEDED TO TAXI TO THE RAMP AREA. WHILE MANEUVERING WITHIN THE RAMP AREA, THE PLT TAXIED THE ACFT INTO A CONSTRUCTION ZONE. REPORTEDLY, THE RIGHT MAIN WHEEL DROPPED INTO A ROUGH AREA & RESULTED IN SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT WING & MINOR DAMAGE TO THE PROPELLER & BRAKE LINE. THE PLT STATED THAT THIS AREA WAS NOT ADEQUATELY MARKED.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,177 hours in all; 42 in this make and model; 66 in the last 90 days; 1,995 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,857 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 3, 1983; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-E45B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BID Block Island RI at 3:00 pm
- Destination: WST Westerly RI
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under N5533J the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.