- Date
- October 31, 1982, 16:45 local (21:45 UTC)
- Place
- 9nm Nw Quitman, GA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8977VCessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 31, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19821031055879A
- Case key
- 69673
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Witnesses observed the acft a little above the tree tops prior to colliding with a high voltage tension wire. The two passengers (ages 10 & 11) were seated in the right front seat, both using the same seat belt. The surviving passenger stated they had requested the plt to fly an "up & down flight path" which the plt had performed on previous occasions to thrill the boys. He also stated that the eng sounded normal during the altitude changes but might have sputtered the last time they were going up. The fuel selector was position to the right tank. The right fuel tank was not ruptured. The right wing separated from the fuselage at the iwng root & there was no fire damage of the wing root noted although the right wing root was found approximately 8 ft from the fire ridden cabin area. There was no evidence of fuelspillage in the immediate area of the right wing. The mechanic who loaded the right wing on a truck bed observed approximately 1 pint of fuel spill out of the right wing root. The acft's flt path was facing the sun.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8977V
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17264333
- Airframe hours
- 1,736
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Both
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Helen K. Long
- Registered owner
- Helen K. Long
- Departed
- Quitman, GA
- Destination
- Thomasville, GA
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 67
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 4,091 total · 107 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 169 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VLD, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.