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Accidents · NTSB CHI83LA342 · Preliminary: the investigation is not finished

Piper PA-25-235 accident near Camp Point, Illinois, July 31, 1983

On July 31, 1983 at about 1:50 pm local time, a Piper PA-25-235, registered N4332Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Camp Point, Illinois. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
July 31, 1983 · about 1:50 pm local time
Place
Camp Point, Illinois · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
1 person was seriously injured.
Weather
visual conditions (good weather)
Aircraft
Piper PA-25-235 · all PA-25-235s on the register
Registration
N4332Y · no longer on the register · serial 25-4822
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

THE PLT HAD JUST COMPLETED A SWATH RUN. AS HE APPROACHED A ROAD HE PULLED UP TO AVOID A CAR, THEN ATTEMPTED TO DESCEND BELOW POWER LINES & IN SO DOING COLLIDED WITH A STOP SIGN. THE ACFT CARTWHEELED & LANDED INVERTED IN A BEAN FIELD.

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: commercial pilot
  • Ratings: single-engine land
  • Flight time: 1,200 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 1,095 as pilot in command
  • Medical certificate: Class 2 (expired)
  • Seat: ctr

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 4,725 hours
  • Last inspection: annual inspection, July 4, 1983; 40 hours since
  • Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
  • Seats: 1
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Lycoming O-540-B2C5 (piston); 0 hours total
  • Fire on the ground

The flight

  • Departed from: La Prairie IL at 1:30 pm
  • Flight plan: none
  • Runway 0

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Wind: from 230° at 5 knots
  • Visibility: 5 statute miles
  • Sky: clear
  • Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
  • Altimeter: 30.00 inHg

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew1

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.