Piper PA-23 accident near Jamestown, North Dakota, June 15, 1983
On June 15, 1983, a Piper PA-23, registered N2054P, was destroyed in an accident near Jamestown, North Dakota. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 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
- June 15, 1983
- Place
- Jamestown, North Dakota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23 · all PA-23s on the register
- Registration
- N2054P · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT LANDED WHEELS-UP WITH ONE ENGINE FEATHERED AND NOSED OVER DURING THE SLIDE-OUT. THE PILOT HAD INTENTIONALLY FEATHERED THE LEFT ENGINE TO 'TRY OUT' THE ACFT. THE LEFT ENGINE HAS THE ONLY ENGINE DRIVEN HYDRAULIC PUMP. THIS PUMP ISNECESSARY TO LOWER LANDING GEAR AND FLAPS. THERE WAS NOT TIME TO LOWER THE GEAR BY EMERGENCY MEANS SO THE ACFT WAS LANDED GEAR AND FLAPS UP. DURING THE LANDING THE ACFT NOSED OVER AND WAS DESTROYED. THERE WAS NO FIRE AND ALL OCCUPANTS WERE ABLE TO EXIT THE WRECKAGE UNINJURED. THE LANDING WAS MADE IN A FIELD OFF THE AIRPORT.
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: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,000 hours in all; 300 in this make and model; 210 in the last 90 days; 10,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,945 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 1982; 39 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ND29 La Moure ND
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:39 pm from JMS, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.