Cessna 401A accident near Raton, New Mexico, December 17, 1984
On December 17, 1984 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Cessna 401A, registered N365AA, was destroyed in an accident near Raton, New Mexico (Crews airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were 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 17, 1984 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Raton, New Mexico · Crews · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 401A · all 401As on the register
- Registration
- N365AA · registry record · serial 401A0047
- 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
ABOUT 2 HRS AFTER DEPARTURE, AT 13,000 FT, THE RIGHT ENG FUEL FLOW WENT TO ZERO. THE ENG CONTINUED TO OPERATE INDICATING24 INCHES OF MANIFOLD PRESSURE. ALL OTHER INSTRUMENTS WERE NORMAL BUT WHAT LOOKED LIKE A BROWN STAIN DEVELOPED ON TOP OF THE RIGHT WING ALONG THE SPAR CAP NEAR THE TIP TANK. ARTCC WAS ADVISED THAT A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING WOULD BE MADE AT RATON AND A RAPID DESCENT WAS BEGUN. ON FINAL THE RIGHT ENG NACELLE AND WING LOCKER TURNED BROWN. AS THE ACFT LANDED FLAMES APPEARED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE FUSELAGE AND SMOKE ENTERED THE CABIN. BOTH ENGS WERE SECURED AND BRAKES APPLIED. THE BRAKES WERE INOPERATIVE THEREFORE, THE PLT STEERED THE ACFT OFF THE RWY INTO A SNOW BANK COLLAPSING THE NOSE GEAR. WITHIN 15 MINS MOST OF THE WRECKAGE WAS CONSUMED BY THE FIRE. IGNITION SOURCE AND FIRE ORIGINATION POINT WERE NOT DETERMINED.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,256 hours in all; 460 in this make and model; 105 in the last 90 days; 3,971 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 47,426 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 7, 1984; 759 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LBF North Platte NE at 3:15 pm
- Destination: ABQ Albuquerque NM
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 20, 5,550 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 60 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 10:30 am
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| 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.