Cessna A152 accident near Benson, Arizona, December 8, 1987
On December 8, 1987 at about 8:35 pm local time, a Cessna A152, registered N234ZN, was destroyed in an accident near Benson, Arizona. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. 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 8, 1987 · about 8:35 pm local time
- Place
- Benson, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A152 · all A152s on the register
- Registration
- N234ZN · no longer on the register · serial A1520988
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ABT 20 MIN AFTER TKOF, THE ACFT CRASHED IN VMC CONDS, APRX 26 MI ALONG THE ROUTE FM TUCSON TO LAS CRUCES. INITIAL IMPACTOCCURRED WITH THE L WING HITTING THE TOP OF A YUCCA PLANT AS THE ACFT WAS IN A SLGT NOSE DOWN, L WING LOW ATTITUDE. JUSTBYD THIS POINT, THE ACFT CONTACTED THE GND & SKIDDED ABT 90' BFR HITTING A SCRUB TREE & COMING TO REST WITH EXTSV DMG. THE THROTTLE WAS FND AT IDLE, MIXTURE AT IDLE-CUTOFF, CARB HEAT WAS OFF & THE FLAPS WERE EXTDD 10 DEG. NO PREIMPACT MECHPRBLM WAS FND. THE ENG RAN NORMALLY DRG AN OPNL CHECK. NO WITNESSES WERE FND. A CAMERA WAS FND WITH FILM EXPOSED ON A PREV FLT. AFTER DVLPMNT, IT HAD IN-FLT PHOTOS OF A TRUCK & A TRAIN TAKEN NR GND LVL. THE TRAIN WAS IDENTIFIED. ITS CREW RECALLED SEEING AN ACFT MAKING LOW PASSES AT THE TRAIN EARLIER THAT DAY (COINCIDING WITH THE PLT'S PREV FLT). PEOPLE, WHO KNEW THE PLT, SAID HE SPOKE OF 'DIVE BOMBING' SEMI-TRUCKS & TRAINS, FLYING UNDER PHONE LINES, LNDG AFTER INTENTIONALFUEL EXHAUSTION & MAKING A LNDG IN THE DESERT. ACDNT SITE WAS NR A RAILROAD, INTERSTATE HIWAY & MOVIE SET (OLD TUCSON).
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; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 113 hours in all; 75 in this make and model; 62 in the last 90 days; 31 in the last 30 days; 63 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,361 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 4, 1987; 116 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: THS Tucson AZ at 8:15 pm
- Destination: LCR Las Cruces NM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:51 pm from TUS, 26 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.