Piper PA-34 accident near Langdon, North Dakota, September 21, 1982
On September 21, 1982 at about 9:04 pm local time, a Piper PA-34, registered N8107X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Langdon, North Dakota (Langdon Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 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
- September 21, 1982 · about 9:04 pm local time
- Place
- Langdon, North Dakota · Langdon Municipal
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-34 · all PA-34s on the register
- Registration
- N8107X · registry record · serial 348070012
- 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
CABIN DOOR CAME OPEN IN FLIGHT AND PILOT MADE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING. DURING ROLL-OUT NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED AS AIRCRAFT WEIGHT SETTLED ON IT SINCE IT HAD NOT FULLY EXTENDED.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,221 hours in all; 3 in this make and model; 85 in the last 90 days; 1,011 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 873 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,570 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360-EB1 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Thunderbird Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: D55 Langdon ND at 3:00 pm
- Destination: FCM Minneapolis MN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 3,500 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.