Cessna 150E accident near Sonoma, California, July 31, 1985
On July 31, 1985 at about 2:30 am local time, a Cessna 150E, registered N6284T, was destroyed in an accident near Sonoma, California (Sonoma Skypark airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 31, 1985 · about 2:30 am local time
- Place
- Sonoma, California · Sonoma Skypark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150E · all 150Es on the register
- Registration
- N6284T · no longer on the register · serial 15060984
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING A DUAL INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT THE STUDENT PLT PRACTICED A FULL STOP LDG FOLLOWED BY A TAKE OFF. ON INITIAL CLIMB ALL ENG POWER WAS SUDDENLY LOST. WHEN THE CFI TOOK OVER THE CONTROLS & MANEUVERED THE ACFT FOR AN EMERGENCY LDG, THE ENG MOMENTARILY COUGHED & SPUTTERED. WHILE LANDING, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES & A POST CRASH FIRE ERUPTED WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY DESTROYED THE ACFT. THE CFI WAS REPORTED TO HAVE STATED TO RESCUE PERSONNEL, 'GUESS I RAN OUT OF GAS.'
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: 1,670 hours in all; 320 in this make and model; 36 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 1,451 as pilot in command; 721 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,500 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, February 1, 1985
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 0Q9 Sonoma CA at 2:29 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26, 2,500 ft by 30 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 20 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.