Cessna 177 accident near Crookston, Minnesota, December 5, 1985
On December 5, 1985 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Cessna 177, registered N3386T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Crookston, Minnesota (Crookston airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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 5, 1985 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Crookston, Minnesota · Crookston · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177 · all 177s on the register
- Registration
- N3386T · no longer on the register · serial 17700686
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE DOING A 270 DEGREE TURN ON BASE LEG FOR RUNWAY REALIGNMENT THE PILOT PERMITTED THE ACFT TO FLY INTO THE GROUND.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,545 hours in all; 1,700 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 2,430 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,215 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 10, 1985; 17 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming 0320E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CKN Crookston MN at 11:20 pm
- Destination: 1
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 13, 3,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: -9°F (-23°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:56 pm from GFK, 23 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.
Other NTSB records under N3386T the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.