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NYC83FA115

1983-05-16 · ROBBINSVILLE, New Jersey, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

N821BE has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (PIPER PA-28-161, built 1978), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE ACFT WAS STRUCTURALLY DAMAGED DURING RECOVERY FROM A DESCENDING RIGHT SPIRAL THAT OCCURRED AS THE FLT PASSED THRU FLT LEVEL 190. AS THE PLT RECVD FROM THE DESCENDING SPIRAL THE INBOARD AND OUTBOARD AILERON HINGE RIVETS WERE SHEARED. THE ALTITUDE DEVIATION OCCURRED IN IMC WEATHER. AN EMERGENCY WAS DECLARED WITH ATC. VECTORS WERE PROVIDED TO JFK APRT FOR A VFR LANDING. THE FLT LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. THE PLT REPORTED THAT AS THE ACFT CLIMBED THROUGH 19000FT AT 100 KTS A LOUD BANK WAS HEARD AND THE ACFT STARTED SHAKING. THE PLT DISENGAGED THE AUTOPLT AND LOWERED THE NOSE. HE STATED THE ACFT ENTERED A RIGHT DESCENDING SPIRAL. HE COULD NOT MOVE THE AILERON AND RECOVERED WITH RUDDER AND ELEVATOR. THE RIGHT AILERON ROD AND HINGES WERE EXAMINED AND THE FAILURES WERE FOUND TO BE SHEAR FROM DUCTILE OVERLOAD. THE FAILED RIVETS MET SPECIFICATIONS FOR HARDNESS TESTS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1983_NYC83FA115.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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