Cessna 208 accident near Cima, California, January 16, 1987
On January 16, 1987 at about 2:40 pm local time, a Cessna 208, registered N9613F, was destroyed in an accident near Cima, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. 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
- January 16, 1987 · about 2:40 pm local time
- Place
- Cima, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208 · all 208s on the register
- Registration
- N9613F · no longer on the register · serial 20800106
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ON A DAY/VFR FLT FROM ONTARIO, CA TO LAS VEGAS, NV, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN NEAR THE TOP OF A 6500' PEAK. RADAR DATA SHOWED THAT APRX 20 MIN BEFORE THE ACDNT, THE ACFT BEGAN A GRADUAL DSCNT FROM ABOUT 10,000'. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT, ENG OR AUTOPLT WAS FOUND. THE PLT HAD A REST PERIOD ON THE PREVIOUS DAY, BUT THE INVESTIGATION DID NOT DETERMINE WHETHER HE HAD OBTAINED ANY SLEEP BEFORE A 1700 PST FLT. AFTER THE 1700 PST FLT, HE VOLUNTARILY FLEW ON A LATE NIGHT FLT WITH ANOTHER COMPANY. THAT FLT WAS DELAYED IN RETURNING & DID NOT LAND AT ONTARIO UNTIL ABOUT 0500 PST THE NEXT MORNING. APRX 41 MIN LATER, THE PLT TOOK OFF ON THE ACDNT FLT.
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
- Flight time: 2,478 hours in all; 91 in this make and model; 265 in the last 90 days; 88 in the last 30 days; 2,321 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 126 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 31, 1986; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT-6A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: California Air Charter
The flight
- Departed from: ONT Ontario CA at 1:41 pm
- Destination: VGT Las Vegas NV
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 51 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 1°F (-17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 pm from LAS, 40 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.