Piper PA-36 accident near Seminole, Texas, November 16, 1983
On November 16, 1983 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-36, registered N9936P, was destroyed in an accident near Seminole, Texas. 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
- November 16, 1983 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Seminole, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-36 · all PA-36s on the register
- Registration
- N9936P · no longer on the register · serial 36-7560048
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ABOUT HALF WAY THRU A TURNAROUND MANEUVER, THE PLT NOTED A LOSS OF ENG POWER & NOTICED THAT THE MANIFOLD PRESSURE HAD DROPPED ABOUT 5 INCHES. DUE TO THE PROXIMITY OF POWER LINES, HE WAS UNABLE LEVEL HIS WINGS. ALSO, BEFORE HE COULD DUMP HIS LOAD, THE LEFT WING CONTACTED THE GROUND & THE ACFT CRASHED. THE ACFT THEN BEGAN BURNING & WAS DEMOLISHED BY FIRE. THE PLT SUSPECTED A TURBOCHARGER MALFUNCTION; HOWEVER, DUE TO IMPACT & FIRE DAMAGE, THIS COULD NOT BE VERIFIED.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,444 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 6,444 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 1, 1983; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 2F5 Lamesa TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 225° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°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.