Gulfstream 500-S accident near Cloquet, Minnesota, September 17, 1985
On September 17, 1985 at about 3:05 am local time, a Gulfstream 500-S, registered N8139P, was destroyed in an accident near Cloquet, Minnesota. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
- September 17, 1985 · about 3:05 am local time
- Place
- Cloquet, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Gulfstream 500-S
- Registration
- N8139P · no longer on the register · serial 3265
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT EXPECTED THE WEATHER TO BE BELOW MINIMUMS BUT FLEW THE APPROACH ANYWAY. HE DID NOT HAVE A SECOND PILOT ON BOARD PER COMPANY RULES. THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH TREES ABOUT 3 MILES FROM THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 17.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 12,750 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,317 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 5, 1985; 73 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,750 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-E1B5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: BRD Brainerd MN at 2:25 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 200° at 15 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from DLH, 14 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.