Cessna 182Q accident near Needles, California, April 5, 1987
On April 5, 1987 at about 8:40 pm local time, a Cessna 182Q, registered N4828N, was destroyed in an accident near Needles, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were 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
- April 5, 1987 · about 8:40 pm local time
- Place
- Needles, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182Q · all 182Qs on the register
- Registration
- N4828N · no longer on the register · serial 18267398
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A CESSNA 182Q COLLIDED WITH AN UNMARKED 50 FT HIGH CABLE OVER THE COLORADO RIVER. THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED FLYING BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE CABLE ROCKING ITS WINGS TO BOATERS AND SUNBATHERS. ONE WITNESS STATED THAT THE ACFT 'BUZZED US, SO LOW, I ACTUALLY DUCKED, THINKING HE WOULD HIT US.' THE ACFT THEN STARTED A CLIMB AT WHICH TIME IT COLLIDED WITH THE CABLE. THE CABLE IS PART OF A GAGE STATION WHICH MEASURES THE HEIGHT OF THE COLORADO RIVER. THE CABLE SPANS 548.8 FT BETWEEN THE RIVER BANKS AND IS 1 1/8 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND CONSTRUCTED WITH 37 GALVANIZED PLOW STEEL STRANDS. THE CABLE CROSSING IS NOT MARKED ON THE PHOENIX SECTIONAL CHART, BUT THE CROSSING FALLS WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF A NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AREA. PILOTS ARE REQUESTED TO MAINTAIN A MINIMUM ALTITUDE OF 2,000 FT ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THESE AREAS. IN ADDITION THE FAR 91.79 RESTRICTS THE OPERATION OF AN ACFT TO NO CLOSER THAN 500 FT TO ANY PERSON, VESSEL, VEHICLE, OR STRUCTURE.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,007 hours in all; 115 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 2,846 as pilot in command; 1,386 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,582 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 14, 1986; 115 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470U (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EED Needles CA at 9:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 45 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 30,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:47 pm from EED, 4 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.