Cessna 177RG accident near Ukiah, California, February 14, 1985
On February 14, 1985 at about 2:35 am local time, a Cessna 177RG, registered N2180Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ukiah, California (Ukiah airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. 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
- February 14, 1985 · about 2:35 am local time
- Place
- Ukiah, California · Ukiah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177RG · all 177RGs on the register
- Registration
- N2180Q · no longer on the register · serial 177RG0580
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON A DARK NIGHT, THE PLT FAILED TO OBSERVE THAT THE TAXIWAY (ON WHICH HE WAS TAXIING) MADE A 90 DEG TURN TO CONNECT WITH THE BEGINNING OF THE RWY. WHERE THE TAXIWAY TURNED, THE ACFT CONTINUED STRAIGHT AHEAD & WENT INTO A 3 FT DEEP DITCH. THERE WERE NO TAXIWAY EDGE MARKINGS & THE CENTERLINE STRIPE WAS NOT OF A REFLECTIVE TYPE.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,967 hours in all; 26 in this make and model; 87 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 6,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,700 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 13, 1984; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: UKI
- Destination: SMF Sacramento CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 15, 5,005 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:46 pm
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.