Cessna 305A accident near League City, Texas, August 25, 1985
On August 25, 1985 at about 1:25 pm local time, a Cessna 305A, registered N6393T, was destroyed in an accident near League City, Texas (Houston Gulf airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- August 25, 1985 · about 1:25 pm local time
- Place
- League City, Texas · Houston Gulf · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 305A · all 305As on the register
- Registration
- N6393T · registry record · serial 21146
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT, WHILE SETTING UP FOR AN AERIAL BANNER TOW PICK UP, FAILED TO PROPERLY DIVIDE HIS ATTENTION BETWEEN HIS FLT DUTIES AND OBSERVING ANOTHER ACFT WHICH WAS ALSO IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN. HE ALLOWED THE ACFT TO STALL WITHOUT SUFFICIENTALT TO RECOVER BEFORE GROUND IMPACT OCCURRED.
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; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,855 hours in all; 52 in the last 90 days; 2,602 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,534 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 42 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-11 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SPX League City TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:48 pm from HOU, 9 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.