Cessna 150 accident near Newport Beach, California, August 23, 1985
On August 23, 1985 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Cessna 150, registered N5422Q, was destroyed in an accident near Newport Beach, California (Meadowlark airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 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
- August 23, 1985 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Newport Beach, California · Meadowlark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150 · all 150s on the register
- Registration
- N5422Q · registry record · serial 15073322
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS CIRCLING TO PHOTOGRAPH A SAILBOAT RACE. THE PLT RPTD THAT WHEN HE ATTEMPTED TO ROLLOUT OF THE TURN THE ACFT FLT CONTROLS DID NOT RESPOND. IN ORDER TO PREVENT A STALL THE PLT APPLIED FULL POWER AND PUSHED THE NOSE DOWNWARDS. THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH THE OCEAN AND SANK. BOTH OCCUPANTS EXITED THE ACFT AND DID NOT SUSTAIN ANY INJURIES.
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; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 2,411 hours in all; 638 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 2,341 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,700 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 1, 1985
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: L16 Huntington Bea CA at 9:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:55 pm from SNA, 6 miles away
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.
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.