Mitsubishi MU-2B-2D accident near El Paso, Texas, October 17, 1985
On October 17, 1985 at about 4:01 am local time, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-2D, registered N23CD, was destroyed in an accident near El Paso, Texas. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- October 17, 1985 · about 4:01 am local time
- Place
- El Paso, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mitsubishi MU-2B-2D · all MU-2B-2Ds on the register
- Registration
- N23CD · no longer on the register · serial 142
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT CANCELED HIS IFR FLT PLAN AND ATTEMPTED TO FLY VFR AT A RELATIVELY LOW ALT OVER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN WITH LOW SCATTERED CLOUDS ON A DARK NIGHT. HE REPORTED A LARGE LIGHTED AREA AS BEING DOWNTOWN EL PASO WHEN IN REALITY IT WAS MOST LIKELY CORONADO HILLS, A DEVELOPMENT ON THE WEST SIDE OF FRANKLIN MOUNTAIN LOCATED APRX 4 MILES NORTH OF THE SOUTH END OF THE MOUNTAIN. THIS WAS PROBABLY DUE TO HAVING JUST DESCENDED FROM IFR CONDITIONS INTO VFR CONDITIONS. HIS FAMILIARITY WITH THE AREA, COMBINED WITH HIS METHOD OF FLT OPERATION (AS RELATED BY A PROFESSIONAL AQUAINTANCE), PROBABLY GAVE A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY AND OVER CONFIDENCE IN HIS PERSONAL ABILITY.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,500 hours in all; 1,200 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,616 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, August 19, 1985; 57 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,920 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE3311151A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Air Exchange INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ABQ Albuquerque NM at 4:07 am
- Destination: ELP El Paso TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 300° at 14 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:09 am from ELP, 6 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.