Cessna 404 accident near Nakatsugawa, Ja, November 15, 2007
On November 15, 2007 at about 10:30 am local time, a Cessna 404 was destroyed in an accident near Nakatsugawa. It was flown under non-U.S. commercial rules. 2 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 15, 2007 · about 10:30 am local time · cases in 2007
- Place
- Nakatsugawa, JA · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Cessna 404 · all 404s on the register
- Registration
- not recorded
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · non-U.S. commercial rules
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On November 15, 2007, about 1030 Japan Standard Time, a Cessna 404 airplane, JA-5257, was destroyed when it collided with steep terrain on the slopes of Mt. Etna, near Nakatsugawa City, Japan. The airplane, operated by Showa Aviation Co., was conducting a photo flight in the area. The flight was conducted under the provisions of the Civil Aviation Regulations of Japan. The pilot and the photographer received fatal injuries. A company engineer received serious injuries. The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction of the Government of Japan. This report is for informational purposes only, and contains only the information released by, or obtained from the Government of Japan. Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from: Aircraft and Railways Accidents Investigation Commission Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport 2-1-2, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-8918, Japan
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
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Operator: Showa Aviation Company
The flight
- Departed from: Nakatsugawa
- Flight plan: not recorded
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- Cessna 404 26 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,685 aircraft on the register
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC08WA021.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.