- Date
- March 5, 1983, 19:16 local (Mar 6, 1983, 02:16 UTC)
- Place
- Evanston, WY
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8406FPiper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830305006339A
- Case key
- 15975
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
When en route, the acft collided with power lines where they crossed over a highway about 39 ft AGL. Two witnesses near this location reported that the acft was flying low & was following the highway on a westerly heading when the acft struck the wires. The wire strike occurred as the acft was starting to cross a valley about 8 mi wide. Subsequently, the acft crashed into rising terrain on the opposite side of the valley. Witnesses in cars near that area stated that the acft was flying low over the highway & was zig-zagging back & forth. Just prior to crashing, they saw the acft go into a steep bank, then it disappeared from their view as it went behind a hill. An exam of the crash site revealed that the acft was in near level flt when it hit trees on the side of a hill, then it crashed into a 9 deg rising slope. The plt was seriously injured & could not recall the flt or the accident. Witnesses stated that the accident occurred on a dark night with low ceilings & with light snow falling.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8406F
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-8190267
- Airframe hours
- 1,011
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ricky C. Barfuss
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 2, 1983 · 112 hours before
- Departed
- COD · Cody, WY
- Destination
- OGD · Ogden, UT
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 526 total · 200 in this make and model · 480 as pilot in command · 16 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EVW, 18 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.