Mooney M20C accident near Cheyenne, Wyoming, October 20, 1984
On October 20, 1984 at about 3:25 am local time, a Mooney M20C, registered N558BQ, was destroyed in an accident near Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- October 20, 1984 · about 3:25 am local time
- Place
- Cheyenne, Wyoming · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20C · all M20Cs on the register
- Registration
- N558BQ · no longer on the register · serial 2980
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE A/C WITH A NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT AT THE CONTROLS, DEPARTED THE CHEYENNE, WY AIRPORT AT NIGHT IN LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS. SEVERAL MINUTES LATER HE CRASHED IN AN OPEN FIELD NORTH OF CHEYENE IMPACT FORCES AND A POST ACC FIRE DEST THE A/C. EVIDENCE INDICATED MINUTES THE A/C WAS FUNCTIONING NORMALLY UNTIL GRD IMPACT.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 19,429 hours in all; 203 in this make and model; 357 in the last 90 days; 203 in the last 30 days; 1,286 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 29,256 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 29, 1984; 216 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,575 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Avco Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: CYS Cheyenne WY at 4:14 am
- Destination: CPT Casper WY
- Flight plan: VFR then IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 040° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:15 am from CYS, 5 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.