Cessna P210N accident near Burns, Oregon, January 22, 1983
On January 22, 1983 at about 4:05 am local time, a Cessna P210N, registered N5162W, was destroyed in an accident near Burns, Oregon (Burns Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. 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 22, 1983 · about 4:05 am local time
- Place
- Burns, Oregon · Burns Municipal
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna P210N · all P210Ns on the register
- Registration
- N5162W · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS ON A BANK-CHECK COURIER FLT FROM TROUTDALE TO PORTLAND, WITH EN ROUTE STOPS AT BURNS & REDMOND, OR. ROUTINELY, THE ACFT WOULD DEPART TROUTDALE BETWEEN 0900 & 0930 & ARRIVE AT BURNS AT 1130 TO 1200 LOCAL TIME. AFTER A GROUND TIME OF APRX 8 HRS, IT NORMALLY WOULD DEPART BURNS BETWEEN 1930 & 2000 LOCAL TIME. THE PLT WAS OBSERVED REMOVING SNOW FROM THE ACFT'S WING BEFORE TAKING OFF. AT APRX 2000 PST, THE PLT TOOK OFF ON RWY 12. AN IFR FLT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED, BUT WAS NOT ACTIVATED. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THERE WERE MARGINAL VFR CONDITIONS, REDUCING VISIBILITY WITH LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW SHOWERS, WIND CALM TO LIGHT. SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, THE ACFT CRASHED ON FLAT, SNOW COVERED, UNCULTIVATED LAND APRX 3 MI SOUTHEAST OF THE ARPT. THE IMPACT OCCURRED ON A WEST NORTHESTERLY HEADING. A PROP BLADE WAS FOUND AT THE INITIAL IMPACT POINT & THE WRECKAGE WAS SCATTERED OVER AN AREA APRX 475 FT LONG. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE WAS MADE, BUT NO PRE-IMPACT MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE WAS FOUND.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 16,389 hours in all; 219 in the last 90 days; 62 in the last 30 days; 16,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 375 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 7, 1983; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520P (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Aar Western Skyways, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: BNO Burns OR at 4:00 am
- Destination: RDM Redmond OR
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 12, 5,100 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds; clear
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°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.