Amateur-built RV4 accident near Bismarck, North Dakota, August 6, 2000
On August 6, 2000 at about 10:20 pm local time, a amateur-built RV4, registered N131DS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bismarck, North Dakota (Bismark Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Inadequate preflight planning/preparation by the pilot, which resulted in fuel exhaustion. A factor associated with the accident was the drainage ditch that the airplane contacted.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 6, 2000 · about 10:20 pm local time
- Place
- Bismarck, North Dakota · Bismark Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RV4
- Registration
- N131DS · registry record · serial 2977
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane nosed over during a forced landing. The pilot reported that a loss of engine power occurred after he was cleared to land. He reported he was too far from the runway, so he selected a gravel road on which to make the forced landing. The gravel road dead-ended at an intersection with a paved road. The airplane traveled off the end of the gravel road, crossed the paved road, and contacted a drainage ditch where it nosed over. The pilot reported that the loss of engine power was a result of fuel exhaustion and the accident could have been prevented had he landed earlier for fuel.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 740 hours in all; 82 in this make and model; 24 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 712 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 82 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2000; 24 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: STE Stevens Point WI
- Destination: BIS
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:52 pm from BIS, 3 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.