Beech F33A accident near Sacramento, California, December 5, 1985
On December 5, 1985 at about 6:30 am local time, a Beech F33A, registered N6541A, was destroyed in an accident near Sacramento, California (Sacramento Metro airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- December 5, 1985 · about 6:30 am local time · cases in 1985
- Place
- Sacramento, California · Sacramento Metro · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech F33A · all F33As on the register
- Registration
- N6541A · no longer on the register · serial CE1011
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON DECEMBER 4, 1985 AT 2230 PST, A BEECH F33A, OPERATED BY THE OWNER, COLLIDED WITH TREES DURING A MISSED APPROACH AT SACRAMENTO METROPOLITAN AIRPORT, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, WHILE ON A BUSINESS FLIGHT. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME; AN INSTRUMENT CLEARANCE HAD BEEN ISSED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AND THE OWNER/ PILOT, THE ONLY OCCUPANT, RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA; THE TIME IS UNKNOWN. ACCORDING TO SACRAMENTO METROPOLITAN TOWER PERSONNEL, THE INSTRUMENT-RATED PRIVATE PILOT REQUESTED AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH AND HAD RECEIVED CLEARANCE TO LAND WHEN HE DISAPPEARED FROM RADAR CONTACT, APPROXIMATELY 1/4 MILE NORTH OF RUNWAY 16 AT AN ALTITUDE OF 100 FEET AGL. THE WRECKAGE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 1 1/2 MILES WEST OF THE AIRPORT, WHERE IT HAD CRASHED AND BURNED.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,100 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 19, 1985
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520 SER (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: RAL Riverside CA
- Destination: SMF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 16, 8,600 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 070° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:46 am from SMF, 1 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N6541A: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Beechcraft F33 Bonanza 1,009 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Beechcraft 6 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO-520 SER 9,485 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Sacramento International · nearest airport
- Riverside Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,080 since 1982 · 1,098 in the last ten years
- California 27,686 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/LAX86FA057.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.