ATL83LA331

1983-08-19 · MT. AIRY, North Carolina, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MWK

Aircraft involved

N6439J Piper PA-28-180 None

Probable cause & findings

A loss of engine power during takeoff for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was unsuitable terrain for a forced landing.

Factual narrative

ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, AFTER TAKEOFF, AT ABOUT 300 FEET AGL HE NOTICED AN ABNORMALITY BUT NO LOSS OF RPM. AFTER TURNING TO RETURN FOR LANDING THE ENGINE LOST POWER COMPLETELY. PRIOR TO REACHING A FIELD STRAIGHT AHEAD, THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A POWER LINE CAUSING THE PILOT TO LOSE CONTROL. THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE TOP OF A TREE, TOUCHED DOWN BEHIND A HOUSE THEN SLID 100 FEET AND STRUCK A SHED. POST-ACCIDENT EXAM OF THE ENGINE REVEALED NO REASON FOR THE POWER LOSS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1983_ATL83LA331.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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