Piper PA-36-285 accident near Driscoll, North Dakota, June 14, 1987
On June 14, 1987 at about 11:45 am local time, a Piper PA-36-285, registered N57773, was destroyed in an accident near Driscoll, North Dakota. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight 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
- June 14, 1987 · about 11:45 am local time
- Place
- Driscoll, North Dakota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-36-285 · all PA-36-285s on the register
- Registration
- N57773 · no longer on the register · serial 36-7660086
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT RPRTD HE LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL AS HE WAS LNDG ON A PAVED SECTION OF OLD HIGHWAY TO LOAD CHEMICALS. THE ACFT SWERVED & WENT INTO A DITCH. THE LEFT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED & THE ACFT CAME TO REST BACK ON THE ROADWAY, WHERE IT WAS DESTROYED BY A POST-ACDNT FIRE.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,700 hours in all; 175 in this make and model; 140 in the last 90 days; 1,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,680 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 3, 1986; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental TIARA 6-285 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: DVL Devils Lake ND at 11:00 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°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.