Amateur-built II accident near Glendale, Arizona, June 23, 1985
On June 23, 1985 at about 2:00 pm local time, a amateur-built II, registered N17RM, was destroyed in an accident near Glendale, Arizona (Glendal Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 23, 1985 · about 2:00 pm local time
- Place
- Glendale, Arizona · Glendal Municipal
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built II
- Registration
- N17RM · registry record · serial 1488
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT CROSSED THE ARPT AT MIDFIELD AND MADE A LEFT TURN FOR A CLOSE IN DOWNWIND. WITNESSES ESTIMATED THAT HE MADE A 180 DEG DESCENDING TURN TO FINAL. WHILE ON FINAL THE PLT OBSERVED ANOTHER ACFT WHICH WAS ALREADY ON FINAL SLIGHTLY AHEADAND SLIGHTLY BELOW HIS ACFT. THE PLT PERFORMED A HARD PULL UP TO AVOID THE OTHER ACFT AND ALLOWED HIS ACFT TO STALL WITHOUT SUFFICIENT ALT TO EFFECT RECOVERY BEFORE GROUND IMPACT OCCURRED.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,137 hours in all; 11 in this make and model; 11 in the last 90 days; 3,616 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 420 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 1,100 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: P37 Glendale AZ at 1:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 2,400 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 7:00 am
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX85LA288.