Piper PA-25D-260 accident near Edgeley, North Dakota, July 11, 1982
On July 11, 1982 at about 3:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-25D-260, registered N9792P, was substantially damaged in an accident near Edgeley, North Dakota (Hartwig Farm Strip airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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
- July 11, 1982 · about 3:00 pm local time
- Place
- Edgeley, North Dakota · Hartwig Farm Strip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-25D-260 · all PA-25D-260s on the register
- Registration
- N9792P · no longer on the register · serial 25756106
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT LOST POWER ON TAKEOFF AND A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE IN AN OPEN FIELD. THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN REFUELED FROM BARRELS BY THE PILOT. HIS FUEL CONTAINED WATER FROM RECENT RAIN. DURING AN EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT, WATER WAS FOUND IN THE FUEL PUMP; FUEL SUPPLY LINE AND ONE FUEL TANK.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,432 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 1,326 as pilot in command; 600 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,100 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 95 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-G1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Edgeley ND at 9:00 am
- Destination: Douglas WY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 160°F (71°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:58 pm from JMS, 40 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.
Other NTSB records under N9792P 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.