Piper PA-36-300 accident near Lake Benton, Minnesota, June 28, 1984
On June 28, 1984 at about 12:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-36-300, registered N3681E, was destroyed in an accident near Lake Benton, Minnesota. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- June 28, 1984 · about 12:45 pm local time
- Place
- Lake Benton, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-36-300 · all PA-36-300s on the register
- Registration
- N3681E · no longer on the register · serial 36-7960049
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ON AN AERIAL APPLICATION FLT, THE PLT WAS CROSSING UNDER A POWER LINE WHEN A WIRE CAUGHT THE RUDDER & SEPARATED ITFROM THE ACFT. DURING A LANDING, THE LEFT WING CONTACTED THE GROUND 1ST.
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: 1,637 hours in all; 1,210 in this make and model; 90 in the last 90 days; 1,567 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,016 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 20, 1984; 93 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Lake Benton MN at 12:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 5,500 ft; not recorded at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:50 pm from MML, 24 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.