Cessna 150M accident near Beulah, North Dakota, April 6, 1985
On April 6, 1985 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Cessna 150M, registered N66387, was substantially damaged in an accident near Beulah, North Dakota (Beulah 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 6, 1985 · about 5:30 pm local time · cases in 1985
- Place
- Beulah, North Dakota · Beulah · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150M · all 150Ms on the register
- Registration
- N66387 · registry record · serial 150-76011
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE AND GUSTY WINDS ON LANDING APPROACH TO RUNWAY 28. HE SAID HIS SPEED WAS FAST TO COMPENSATE FOR THESE CONDITIONS BUT THAT HE DID NOT USE A CROSSWIND LANDING TECHNIQUE BECAUSE THE WINDS HAD CALMED DOWN. THE PILOT SAID THAT AS HE FLARED THE AIRPLANE FOR LANDING, A GUST OF WIND FROM THE RIGHT RAISED THE RIGHT WING. THE AIRPLANE WENT OFF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY INTO A SOFT STUBBLE FIELD AND OVERTURNED.
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: 2,559 hours in all; 210 in this make and model; 51 in the last 90 days; 2,534 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 205 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 12, 1984
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 9Y1 Killdeer ND at 5:00 pm
- Destination: 95D Beulah ND
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 3,500 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 18 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,200 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:16 pm from DIK, 70 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N66387 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 150 7,994 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,685 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental O-200-A 296 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Beulah Airport · nearest airport
- Dunn County Weydahl Field · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in North Dakota 581 since 1982 · 59 in the last ten years
- North Dakota 2,496 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/DEN85LA115.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.