Cessna 421B accident near Ojinaga, Mx, September 15, 2008
On September 15, 2008 at about 6:18 pm local time, a Cessna 421B, registered N7560Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ojinaga. It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people were 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
- September 15, 2008 · about 6:18 pm local time
- Place
- Ojinaga, Mexico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421B · all 421Bs on the register
- Registration
- N7560Q · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On September 15, 2008, approximately 1318 central daylight time, a United States registered Cessna 421B, N7560Q, was substantially damaged after it collided with mountainous terrain approximately 28 miles northwest of Ojinaga, Mexico, near the border town of Presidio, Texas. The air transport rated pilot and the three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to EAC Parts LLC, Springfield, Ohio, and operated by Volare Air Charter, El Paso, Texas. The pilot contacted the Fort Worth Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), Fort Worth, Texas, at 1016, approximately 15 minutes after he departed El Paso International Airport, El Paso, Texas, and filed a visual flight rules flight plan to Presidio, Texas. The pilot informed an AFSS specialist that he intended to enter Mexican airspace for the purpose of flying over the Luis Leon Dam, but had no intentions of landing in Mexico. The pilot did not request a weather briefing for the flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135; however, he was informed by the specialist that visual flight rules were not recommended due to mountain obscuration. Onboard the airplane were the pilot, the United States and Mexican Commissioners of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), and the Executive Director for the Rio Grande Council of Governments. The purpose of the flight was to assess Rio Grande flood conditions at Presidio-Ojinaga and to coordinate joint US-Mexican efforts with local officials to address flood control concerns in the area due to heavy inflows to the Rio Grande from reservoirs inside Mexico as a result of recent storms. The airplane wreckage was located on September 17, 2008, by the Marfa Sector of the US Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Division, on the west side of the Sierra Grande Mountains, at an approximate elevation of 6,500 feet mean sea level (msl). The airplane came to rest approximately 100-150 feet below the top of a ridgeline on a heading of 055 degrees along victor-airway V81. A handheld Garmin 496 GPS was removed from the airplane wreckage and sent to the NTSB's Research and Engineering Laboratory, Washington DC, for further examination and download. The investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the Government of the Republic of Mexico. Any further information may be obtained from: Dirección de Investigación de Incidentes y Accidentes Aviacion Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC) Ave. 602 NUM. 161. COL. San Juan de Aragon 3RA Seccion C.P. 15620 Delagacion Benustiano Carranza México, D. F. This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by, or obtained from the DGAC of the Republic of Mexico.
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
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Operator: Volare Air Charter
The flight
- Departed from: ELP El Paso TX at 5:00 pm
- Destination: TX Presidio TX
- Flight plan: VFR
Weather at the time
- Wind: from 050° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.40 inHg
- Observation at 12:55 pm from MRF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.