Cessna 404 accident near Salt Lake City, Utah, January 8, 1985
On January 8, 1985 at about 1:27 pm local time, a Cessna 404, registered N2681B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Salt Lake City, Utah (Salt Lake City Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. 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
- January 8, 1985 · about 1:27 pm local time
- Place
- Salt Lake City, Utah · Salt Lake City Int'L
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 404 · all 404s on the register
- Registration
- N2681B · no longer on the register · serial 404-0450
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT DEPARTED RWY 34L AT SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN IMC. THERE WAS MODERATE SNOWFALL AT THE TIME. THE PLT SAID THAT SHORTLY AFTER LIFING OFF, AT AN ALT OF APRX 200 FEET AGL, BOTH ENGINES BEGAN RUNNING ROUGH. ALL ENG INSTRUMENTS WERE SAID TO BE NORMAL. THE PLT SAID HE APPLIED ALTERNATE AIR BUT OBSERVED NO CHANGE AND CLOSED HEM. THE AIRPLANE BEGAN LOSING ALT AND THE STALL WARNING HORN WAS SOUNDING. THE PLT MADE A GEAR-UP LANDING ABOUT 500 FEET TO THE RIGHT OF RWY CENTERLINE AND ABOUT 500 FEET BEYOND THE DEPARTURE END OF RWY 34L. BOTH ENGINES RAN SATISFACTORY DURING A POST-ACCIDENT EXAMINATION. FUEL SAMPLES TAKEN FROM BOTH FUEL TANKS DISCLOSED NO EVIDENCE OF CONTAMINANTS OR WATER.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,341 hours in all; 89 in this make and model; 129 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 3,196 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 33,052 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 21, 1984; 292 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental GTSIO-520-M2B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Regional Express CO
The flight
- Destination: IDA Idaho Falls ID
- Flight plan: VFR then IFR
- Runway 34L, 12,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 270° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:30 pm from SLC
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.