Globe GC-1B accident near Moorpark, California, May 27, 1985
On May 27, 1985 at about 1:15 am local time, a Globe GC-1B, registered N80970, was destroyed in an accident near Moorpark, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 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
- May 27, 1985 · about 1:15 am local time
- Place
- Moorpark, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Globe GC-1B · all GC-1Bs on the register
- Registration
- N80970 · no longer on the register · serial 1163
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT CRASHED WHILE BEING MANEUVERED IN A CANYON. POST CRASH INSPECTION OF THE PROPELLER REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF ROTATION AT IMPACT. ONE-HALF GAL OF AUTOMOTIVE FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE LEFT WING TANK AND NO FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE RIGHT WING TANK. SOME FUEL LINES WERE BROKEN AT THE CENTER WING AREA WHICH WOULD HAVE ALLOWED SOME LEAKAGE AFTER THE ACCIDENT, HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF EXTREME AMOUNTS OF FUEL SPILLAGE IN AND AROUND THE ACFT. THE ENGINE WAS RUN TO FULL POWER AFTER THE ACCIDENT WITH NO EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL FAILURE. THE ACFT'S FUEL VALVE WAS FOUND BETWEEN THE OFF AND ON POSITIONS, WHICH DID NOT ALLOW FUEL TO FLOW THROUGH IT, HOWEVER, THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF IMPACT DAMAGE TO THE VALVE. THE ACFT'S FUEL GAGE STILL READ ONE QUARTER FULL AFTER THE CRASH WITH NO FUEL IN THE ACFT.
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: 285 hours in all; 55 in this make and model; 38 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 255 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,819 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 31, 1985; 57 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,710 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental C-142-2 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CMA Oxnard CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.