Piper PA-25-235 accident near Yankton, South Dakota, August 24, 1985
On August 24, 1985, a Piper PA-25-235, registered N9748P, was destroyed in an accident near Yankton, South Dakota. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person had minor injuries. 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
- August 24, 1985
- Place
- Yankton, South Dakota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-25-235 · all PA-25-235s on the register
- Registration
- N9748P · no longer on the register · serial 25-7556015
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT DESCENDED UNCONTROLLED INTO THE TERRAIN AFTER IT CONTACTED A POWER LINE DURING AN AERIAL APPLICATION FLT. WITNESSES REPORTED THE ACFT APPEARED TO PULL UP AT THE WEST END OF THE 40 ACRE FLD, HOWEVER, IT DID NOT CLEAR THE LINES AND IT NOSED OVER INTO ANOTHER FLD. THE INSECTICIDE BEING SPRAYED WAS ETHYO/PARATHION. THE PLT WAS COVERED WITH THE CHEMICAL DURING THE ACCIDENT BUT WAS HOSED OFF WITHIN 5 MINUTES AFTER THE ACCIDENT.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,000 hours in all; 550 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 11,000 as pilot in command; 1,600 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,600 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 10, 1985; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.