Amateur-built GA-7 accident near Norfolk, Nebraska, November 9, 1982
On November 9, 1982 at about 4:40 am local time, a amateur-built GA-7, registered N715GA, was destroyed in an accident near Norfolk, Nebraska (Karl Stefan Mem'L. airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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 9, 1982 · about 4:40 am local time
- Place
- Norfolk, Nebraska · Karl Stefan Mem'L. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built GA-7
- Registration
- N715GA · no longer on the register · serial GA-0015
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH TREES AND CRASHED IN AN OPEN MEADOW DURING AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH AT NIGHT. THE PILOT SAID THE LANDING LIGHTS REFLECTED IN HIS EYES DURING APPROACH SO HE TURNED THEM OFF. THE PILOT FAILED TO OBTAIN THE LATEST WEATHER BEFORE HIS APPROACH. THE WEATHER WAS BELOW MINIMUMS FOR THE APPROACH. HE DESCENDED BELOW HIS MDA AND WAS CLIMBING BACK TO MDA WHEN COLLISION OCCURRED.
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: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,927 hours in all; 196 in this make and model; 193 in the last 90 days; 1,786 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,326 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 77 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D1D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Mid-Plains Flight, CORP.
The flight
- Departed from: LNK Lincoln NE at 10:59 pm
- Destination: YGK Kingston
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31, 5,820 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 100° at 7 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 99°F (37°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 pm from OFK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.