Cessna 208 accident near San Rafael, Mx, December 24, 2019
On December 24, 2019 at about 3:29 pm local time, a Cessna 208, registered XATWN, was destroyed in an accident during enroute near San Rafael. It was flown under non-U.S. commercial rules. The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
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
- December 24, 2019 · about 3:29 pm local time
- Place
- San Rafael, Mexico
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208 B · all 208s on the register
- Registration
- XATWN · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · non-U.S. commercial rules
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On December 24, 2019, about 1529 coordinated universal time, a Cessna 208B airplane, XA-TWN, impacted desert terrain near San Rafael, Sonoroa, Mexico, while enroute to the Guerrero Negro Airport (MMGR), Baja California, Mexico. The two occupants sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the government of Mexico. This report is for information purposes only and contains only information released by or obtained from the Agencia Federal de Aviacion Civil (AFAC). The NTSB has appointed a U.S. Accredited Representative to assist the AFAC investigation under the provisions of International Civil Aviation Organization Annex 13 as the state of manufacture of the airframe. Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from: Agencia Federal de Aviacion Civil – AFAC Direccion de Analisis de Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviacion Boulevard Adolfo Lopez Mateos, #1990, piso 4, Col. Los Alpes, Tlacopac Delegacion Alvaro Obregon, C.P. 01010, Ciudad de Mexico Telephone: (55) 5011-6413 E-Mail: cidaiac@sct.gob.mx Website: https://ts.sct.gob.mx/transporte-y-medicina-preventiva/aeronautica-civil/inicio/
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
What happened, in order
- Unknown or undetermined during enroute defining event
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Not recorded
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check 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.