- Date
- October 21, 1983, 17:17 local (21:17 UTC)
- Place
- Gulf Of Mexico
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6403YPiper PA-23
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19831021055069A
- Case key
- 31053
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 acft was ditched in the Gulf Of Mexico before fuel exhaustion. The pilot said he departed an arpt near great inagua,Bahamas in VMC weahter. He reported that he experienced a malfunction of the compass and fearing fuel exhaustion had made two passes around a freighter before ditching across her bow. The acft sank but the two occupants were rescued. A later report from U.S. Customs in miami revealed that they spotted this acft flying 100 ft above the water near cuba. They followed it to great inagua isl then on to a point south of andros is in the Bahamas. The flt then progressed to marathon and key west before flying out over the Gulf to ditch. The initial departure point, destination and flt purposewere not determined. The registered owner of the acft said he had recently sold the acft. The identity of the new owner was not determined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6403Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27-3688
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Phillip M. Bueter
- Registered owner
- Clyde Love Distributing, Co.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,445 total · 252 in this make and model · 1,275 as pilot in command · 200 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.