Probable cause
The pilot’s intentional flight into terrain as an act of suicide.
NTSB analysis
The pilot departed on a night cross-country flight. Flight track data showed that, after takeoff, the airplane climbed to an altitude of about 3,700 ft mean sea level. About 30 miles from the departure airport, the airplane turned left about 180° and began a rapid descent. The wreckage was located in a plowed, soft dirt field. Examination revealed no preimpact mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. Following a death investigation, the state medical examiner classified the manner of death as a suicide.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN22FA017 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Oct 19, 2021
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Buxton, North Dakota
- Highest injury
- Fatal
- Fatal injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Night, dark
Piper Aircraft Inc PA-28-181
- N-number
- N820ND
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2018
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.