Amateur-built SKYBOLT accident near Sidney, Nebraska, August 25, 1982
On August 25, 1982, a amateur-built SKYBOLT, registered N5464E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sidney, Nebraska (Sidney Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
- August 25, 1982
- Place
- Sidney, Nebraska · Sidney Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SKYBOLT
- Registration
- N5464E · no longer on the register · serial CD-1
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE EN ROUTE, THE PILOT USED HIS 1981 ISSUE OF THE AOPA AIRPORT DIRECTORY TO SELECT A RUNWAY FOR LANDING AT SIDNEY, NE. THE DIRECTORY SHOWED THAT THERE WAS A 3800 FT SOD RUNWAY (08/26) AND A 6600 FT CONCRETE RUNWAY (12/30). THE PILOT ELECTED TO LAND ON THE SOD RUNWAY, NOT KNOWING IT HAD BEEN CLOSED. DURING THE LANDING, THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A DRAINAGE DITCH THAT HAD BEEN DUG ACROSS THE AREA. THE PILOT STATED THAT DURING LANDING, HIS FORWARD VISIBILITY WAS POOR AND HE DID NOT SEE THE DITCH UNTIL JUST PRIOR TO IMPACT. THE AIRPORT MANAGER STATED THAT THE SOD RUNWAY HAD BEEN CLOSED FOR OVER A YEAR AND THE RUNWAY BOUNDARY MARKERS HAD BEEN REMOVED. ALSO, HE SAID THAT RECENTLY, WHEAT HAD BEEN HARVESTED FROM THE AREA PREVIOUSLY USED AS A RUNWAY AND A DRAINAGE DITCH HAD BEEN DUG.
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: 2,022 hours in all; 10 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 1,977 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 68 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming GO-435-1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Oberlin KS at 5:15 pm
- Destination: Sidney NE
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 165°F (74°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:00 pm from SNY
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.