- Date
- April 2, 1983, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Cuero, TX
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N734ZRCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830402010659A
- Case key
- 20717
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
The non-rated plt had been previously employed by the operator & knew where the keys of the acft had been kept. He had no known flight training, but had previously been a passenger in the acft on at least one ocasion. He took the acft without permission, presumably to take two friends on a joy ride. During the takeoff roll & initial climb, the acft was observed to enter a steep nose high attitude. The acft then went into a steep, slow speed turn, entered a near vertical, spinning dive, crashed into a large metal building & burned. The wind was reported to be from the north at 10 gusting 25 KTS.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N734ZR
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17269249
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Dewayne Overholfer
- Registered owner
- Henry Gardner
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Airport
- T71 · Cuero, runway 32, 2,800 × 60 ft, asphalt
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
- 23
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 10 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.