Cessna 177 accident near Fallbrook, California, April 10, 1985
On April 10, 1985 at about 2:47 am local time, a Cessna 177, registered N2907X, was destroyed in an accident near Fallbrook, California (Fallbrook Airpark airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- April 10, 1985 · about 2:47 am local time
- Place
- Fallbrook, California · Fallbrook Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177 · all 177s on the register
- Registration
- N2907X · no longer on the register · serial 17700307
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ALTHOUGH AWARE OF EXISTING IMC CONDITIONS AND REDUCED LIGHTING WITH THE SETTING OF THE SUN, THE PLT ATTEMPTED A VISUAL APCH TO HIS HOME ARPT WHICH DID NOT HAVE AN APPROVED APCH. HIS REMARKS TO MCCLELLEN-PALOMAR TWR, REGARDING THE USE OF THE ON-BOARD LORAN RECEIVER, AND CHARTS FOUND IN THE WRECKAGE DEPICTING COORDINATES OF HIS HOME ARPT INDICATE THE PLT WAS PROBABLY USING THE LORAN TO GET A FIX ON THE ARPT. THE LOCATION OF THE LORAN DISPLAY ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL REQUIRED THE PLT'S FLT-INSTRUMENT SCAN PATTERN TO BE INCREASED TO THE RIGHT OF THE NORMAL PATTERN. THE INCREASED SCAN PATTERN PROBABLY RESULTED IN THE DIVERSION OF THE PLT'S ATTENTION FROM THE FLT INSTRUMENTS, ALLOWING THE ACFT TO DESCEND INTO TREES. WITNESSES STATED DENSE FOG WAS PRESENT IN THE AREA AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.
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
- Flight time: 3,000 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 94 in the last 90 days; 3,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,256 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 26, 1984; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CRQ Carlsbad CA at 2:31 am
- Destination: Fallbrook CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0, 2,160 ft by 70 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 210° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 800 ft; scat at 500 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:00 am from NFG, 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.