Cessna 402A accident near Bismarck, North Dakota, May 7, 1982
On May 7, 1982 at about 2:07 am local time, a Cessna 402A, registered N4504Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bismarck, North Dakota (Bismarck Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 8 people were 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
- May 7, 1982 · about 2:07 am local time
- Place
- Bismarck, North Dakota · Bismarck Municipal
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402A · all 402As on the register
- Registration
- N4504Q · no longer on the register · serial 402A0004
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT DISCOVERED THAT THE GEAR WOULD NOT EXTEND ELECTRICALLY. MANUAL EXTENSION WAS ATTEMPTED, BUT THE CRANK WOULD NOT TURN IN EITHER DIRECTION. WHILE APPLYING PRESSURE TO THE CRANKS, THE CHAIN DRIVE FAILED. THE PLANE WAS LANDED WITH THE GEAR RETRACTED. DISASSEMBLY OF THE EMERGENCY EXTENSION SYSTEM REVEALED THAT A SHAFT, PN 0843400-50, WAS BENT AND GOUGE MARKS WERE FOUND ON A TOOTH OF A BEVEL GEAR, PN 0843400-49. ALSO, THE MANUAL EXTENSION CHAIN, PN 500000-52, BETWEEN THE HAND CRANK AND BEVEL GEARS, HAD BROKEN. NO OTHER DISCREPANCIES WERE EVIDENT IN THE LANDING GEAR SYSTEM.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 30,000 hours in all; 179 in this make and model; 102 in the last 90 days; 30,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,378 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,885 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Capital Aviation Corporation
The flight
- Departed from: FAR Fargo ND at 7:30 pm
- Destination: Monterey CA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 35, 4,009 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 320° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 104°F (40°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:07 pm from BIS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 7 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N4504Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.