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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 5, 1985 · about 6:30 am local time
- Place
- Sacramento, California · Sacramento Metro · 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.
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.