Cessna 140 accident near Petaluma, California, April 11, 1985
On April 11, 1985 at about 4:25 am local time, a Cessna 140, registered N140MC, was destroyed in an accident near Petaluma, California (Petaluma Sky Ranch airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
- April 11, 1985 · about 4:25 am local time
- Place
- Petaluma, California · Petaluma Sky Ranch · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 140 · all 140s on the register
- Registration
- N140MC · registry record · serial 12373
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ATP PLT INITIATED A SHORT X-COUNTRY FLT AT NIGHT IN AN ACFT WITH NO ATTITUDE GYRO INSTRUMENTS. JUST BEFORE THE ACFT CRASHED, WITNESSES HEARD THE ACFT. THEY REPORTED THAT THE ENG SOUNDED LIKE THE PLT WAS DOING STUNTS OR SHARP TURNS. THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT SEE THE ACFT BECAUSE OF THE FOG OR CLOUD COVER AT ABOUT 600 FT. SUDDENLY THEY SAW A LIGHT THAT IMMEDIATELY WENT TOWARD THE GROUND. AT ABOUT THAT SAME TIME, THEY HEARD THE ENG WHINE AS IF THE ACFT WAS IN A DIVE. THE LIGHT DISAPPEARED & THEY HEARD A THUD. THE ACFT WAS LOCATED WHERE IT HAD CRASHED IN A POND. DURING AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE NO PREIMPACT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT OR ENG WAS FOUND. THE ACFT WAS EQUIPPED WITH A NEEDLE BALL, AIRSPEED INDICATOR, ALTIMETER & MAGNETIC COMPASS.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,202 hours in all; 263 in the last 90 days; 95 in the last 30 days; 6,833 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,612 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 1984; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,450 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HWD Hayward CA at 4:06 am
- Destination: STS Santa Rosa CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 260° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:45 am from APC, 16 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.