Cessna 414 accident near Eagle Mountain, California, April 2, 1985
On April 2, 1985 at about 2:00 pm local time, a Cessna 414, registered XBDED, was substantially damaged in an accident near Eagle Mountain, California (Eagle Mountain airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). The NTSB record does not give the injuries. 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
- April 2, 1985 · about 2:00 pm local time
- Place
- Eagle Mountain, California · Eagle Mountain · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 414 · all 414s on the register
- Registration
- XBDED · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY CALIFORNIA SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN LEFT GEAR FIRST AND EXPERIENCED A BLOWOUT OR GEAR FAILURE ON THE RIGHT GEAR. THE ACFT RAN OFF THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RWY, SKIDDED ACROSS A DIRT BERM PARTIALLY SEPARATING THE RIGHT WING WHICH WAS BURNED ALONG WITH THE RIGHT ENGINE. THE ACFT CONTAINED 451 POUNDS OF 90%+ PURE COCAINE. THE OCCUPANTS WERE NOT LOCATED. THE ACFT WAS REGISTERED IN MEXICO.
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
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 6,500 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-J (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 2,000 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:54 pm from WJF, 145 miles away
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.