Cessna 172P accident near Boron, California, April 21, 1985
On April 21, 1985 at about 3:00 am local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N55448, was substantially damaged in an accident near Boron, California (Borax airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 21, 1985 · about 3:00 am local time · cases in 1985
- Place
- Boron, California · Borax · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N55448 · registry record · serial 17275182
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ON A CROSS COUNTRY BUSINESS FLT, THE PLT SAID HE BECAME CONCERNED ABOUT AN INDICATED LOW FUEL STATE AND DECIDED TO MAKE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING. TWO APPROACHES HAD TO BE ABANDONED DUE TO WHAT THE PLT DESCRIBED AS 'THE MOST DIFFICULT X-WIND CONDITIONS AND GUSTS' THAT HE HAD EVER EXPERIENCED. AFTER TOUCHDOWN ON THE THIRD LANDING ATTEMPT, PLT SAID THE ACFT 'LURCHED LEFT, THEN FORWARD AND UP OVER ONTO ITS BACK.' A SHERIFF'S DEPUTY WHO ARRIVED AT THE AIRPORT SHORTLY AFTER THE ACCIDENT STATED THAT THE LOCAL SURFACE WINDS 'WERE 40 TO 50 MILES PER HOUR.'
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 585 hours in all; 351 in this make and model; 33 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 585 as pilot in command; 98 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 798 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 12, 1984; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HMT Hemet CA at 1:30 am
- Destination: BFL Bakersfield CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26, 2,800 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 260° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 15,000 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 am from EDW, 12 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.
Other NTSB records under N55448 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N55448 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 172 Skyhawk 20,686 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,677 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J 96 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Hemet-Ryan Airport · departed from
- Meadows Field · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,080 since 1982 · 1,096 in the last ten years
- California 28,112 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N55448 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/LAX85LA212.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.