Amateur-built AA-5B accident near Ozona, Texas, October 24, 1985
On October 24, 1985 at about 5:00 pm local time, a amateur-built AA-5B, registered N28228, was destroyed in an accident near Ozona, Texas (Riggs Ranch (Pvt) airport). It was a business 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
- October 24, 1985 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Ozona, Texas · Riggs Ranch (Pvt) · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AA-5B
- Registration
- N28228 · registry record · serial AASB-0950
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED APCHG THE DESTINATION WHILE FLYING UNDER A CLOUD COVER OF APRX 1000 FT AGL. WHEN IT REACHED THE VICINITY OF THE ARPT, THE PLT MADE A TURN & SUBSEQUENTLY ENTERED THE CLOUDS. A WITNESS HEARD WHAT HE DESCRIBED AS VARIATIONS IN ENG POWER. VERY SHORTLY THEREAFTER, HE SAW THE ACFT EMERGE FROM THE CLOUDS IN A STEEP NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. THE ACFT IMPACTED THE GROUND BEFORE THE PLT RECOVERED FROM THE DIVE. THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PLT HAD ONLY ABOUT 2 HRS OF SIMULATED INSTRUMENT FLT TIME WHICH WAS LISTED AS DUAL INSTRUCTION. THE ACFT WAS PARTIALLY DISINTEGRATED DURING THE CRASH WITH SOME PARTS TRAVELING MORE THAN 400 FT FROM THE IMPACT POINT. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FND. A TOXICOLOGY REPORT SHOWED THAT THE PLT'S LIVER FLUID TISSUE HAD AN ALCOHOL LEVEL OF 0.122% ALCOHOL.
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
- Flight time: 308 hours in all; 251 in this make and model; 26 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 250 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,895 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 8, 1985; 96 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: T82 Fredricksburg TX at 4:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:49 pm from SJT, 58 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.