Cessna 404 accident near South Lyon, Michigan, August 16, 1985
On August 16, 1985 at about 11:09 am local time, a Cessna 404, registered N404EX, was destroyed in an accident near South Lyon, Michigan. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. 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
- August 16, 1985 · about 11:09 am local time
- Place
- South Lyon, Michigan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 404 · all 404s on the register
- Registration
- N404EX · no longer on the register · serial 404-0017
- 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 ACFT TOOK OFF AND CLIMBED TO 5000 FT UNEVENTFULLY. IT THEN DROPPED OFF RADAR AND SUBSEQUENTLY IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A FLAT UPRIGHT ATTITUDE. A POST-CRASH FIRE CONSUMED THE MAJORITY OF THE AIRFRAME. ENG AND PROP TEARDOWNS INDICATED NO ABNORMALITIES AND PWR AT THE TIME OF IMPACT. A FIRE IN THE CARGO COMPARTMENT WAS RULED OUT BY ATF INVESTIGATORS. MAIN ELECTRICAL SWITCHES WERE FOUND OFF IN THE WRECKAGE. AN OXYGEN BOTTLE IN THE NOSE CAUGHT FIRE SEPARATLEY FROM THE REST OF THE ACFT BUT IT COULD NOT BE DETERMINED IF THE OXYGEN FIRE TOOK PLACE IN THE AIR OR AFTER IMPACT. THE DOOR WARNING, LEFT AND RIGHT ALT OUT, LEFT AND RIGHT HYD FLOW AND LEFT AND RIGHT LOW FUEL ANNUNCIATOR BULBS EXHIBITED STRETCHED FILAMENTS WHEN EXAMINED FOLLOWING THE CRASH.
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: 3,650 hours in all; 70 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,935 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 7, 1985; 17 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental GTSIO-520-M (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: DTW Detroit MI at 10:53 am
- Destination: MBS Saginaw MI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 4 knots
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:05 am from DTW, 20 miles away
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.