Cessna 441 accident near Flagstaff, Arizona, February 21, 1987
On February 21, 1987 at about 1:45 am local time, a Cessna 441, registered N6858S, was destroyed in an accident near Flagstaff, Arizona. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were 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
- February 21, 1987 · about 1:45 am local time
- Place
- Flagstaff, Arizona
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 441 · all 441s on the register
- Registration
- N6858S · no longer on the register · serial 0253
- 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
THE ACFT WAS ON AN EMERG MED SVC (EMS/MED-EVAC) FLT WITH A PLT & FLT NURSE ABOARD TO TRANSPORT A MATERNITY PATIENT FM FLAGSTAFF TO PHOENIX. DRG A NGT ARRIVAL, THE PLT BGN A VOR-A APCH IN IMC, THEN HE RPRTD A PROBLEM WITH HIS AVIONICS & ELECTED TO MAKE A MISSED APCH. DRG THE MISSED APCH, HE SAID THAT HE 'LOST' AN INVERTER, THEN RPRTD THE GYROS WERE INOP. RADAR VECTORS WERE BEING PROVIDED WHEN HE STATED 'WE HAVE BIG TROUBLE HERE.' SOON THEREAFTER, RADAR & RADIO CTC WERE LOST & THE ACFT CRASHED APRX 7 MI SE OF THE ARPT. DRG IMPACT, THE ACFT MADE A DEEP CRATER & WAS DEMOLISHED. NO PREIMPACTENG OR AIRFRAME FAILURE WAS FND. AN INV REVEALED THE #2 (COPLT'S) ATTITUDE INDCR WAS INOP ON THE PREV FLT. A DISCREPANCYRPRT WAS TAKEN TO THE AVIONICS DEPT, BUT THE REQD ENTRY WAS NOT MADE IN THE ACFT FORM-4. THE PLT TKOF BEFORE CORRECTIVE ACTION WAS TAKEN. THE OPNS MANUAL REQD 1000 HRS MULTI-ENG TIME AS PIC & TRNG BY DESIGNATED CFI'S. THE PLT HAD APRX 837 HRS MULTI-ENG TIME, RECD 9 TRNG FLTS IN N6858S WITH NON-DESIGNATED INSTRUCTORS, COMPLETED A PART 135 FLT CHK ON 2/17/88.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,311 hours in all; 24 in this make and model; 256 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 429 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,349 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 10, 1987; 239 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,850 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Samaritan Health Services
The flight
- Departed from: PHX Phoenix AZ
- Destination: FLG Flagstaff AZ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 040° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,200 ft; not recorded at 1,200 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:45 am from FLG
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.