Cessna TR182 accident near Santa Rosa, New Mexico, April 20, 1987
On April 20, 1987, a Cessna TR182, registered N9145R, was substantially damaged in an accident near Santa Rosa, New Mexico. 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
- April 20, 1987
- Place
- Santa Rosa, New Mexico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna TR182 · all TR182s on the register
- Registration
- N9145R · no longer on the register · serial R18200664
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AN A & P ACFT MECHANIC WHO ADDITIONALLY WAS A COMMERCIAL PLT WAS OPERATING A BORROWED ACFT ON A LOCAL FLT. HE LANDED ON AN ISLAND IN A LAKE AND SHUT DOWN. LATER, WHEN AIRBORNE ON TAKEOFF, THE RIGHT ELEVATOR STRUCK A SMALL TREE AND THE ACFT YAWED RIGHT. THE PLT LOST CONTROL AND THE ACFT IMPACTED WITH THE SANDY, GRASS COVERED 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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,120 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 64 in the last 90 days; 750 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,855 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 1987; 101 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-L3C5D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CVN Clovis NM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.