Cessna 172M accident near Oxnard, California, January 6, 1989
On January 6, 1989 at about 1:05 am local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N61587, was destroyed in an accident near Oxnard, California. It was a personal 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
CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEORLOGICAL CONDITIONS WHICH RESULTED IN AN IN-FLIGHT COLLSION WITH TERRAIN. RELATED FACTORS WERE: FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO USE A PREFLIGHT BRIEFING SERVICE, HIS DECISION TO INITIATE FLIGHT INTO KNOWN ADVERSE WEATHER, THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, THE PILOT'S VISUAL PERCEPTION AT DUSK, AND THE RISING/MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 6, 1989 · about 1:05 am local time
- Place
- Oxnard, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N61587 · no longer on the register · serial 17264660
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT LISTENED TO WX RPRTS ON THE RADIO, BUT DIDN'T RCV AN FAA OR NWS BRIEFING. A FRONTAL SYS WAS FORECASTED TO ACROSSHIS RTE OF FLT WITH PRCTNS FOR MULTIPLE CLOUD LAYERS, LOW CEILINGS, RESTRICTED VIS, ICING & RAIN SHOWERS. THE PLT TOLD A FRIEND, WHO DROVE HIM TO THE ARPT, THAT HE COULD 'FLY UNDER THE HEAVY CLOUDS' THAT THEY OBSERVED TO THE SOUTH. THE ACFT DEPD WATSONVILLE AT ABT 1450 PST, BUT DIDN'T ARRIVE AT THE DESTN (SANTA MONICA); 15 DAYS LTR, IT WAS FND ON ANACOPAISLAND (14 MI WEST OF OXNARD), WHERE IT IMPACTED A 1112' RIDGE AT ABT THE 440' LVL. RADAR DATA SHOWED A PROBABLE TRACK LEADING TWD THE ACDNT SITE, BUT IT HAD DISAPPEARED ABT 22 MI NW OF THE CRASH SITE, AFTER THE ACFT HAD FLOWN WEST OF A MORE DIRECT RTE (OVER OCEAN WATER). A HELICOPTER PLT, WHO WAS IN THE VCTNY AT THE TIME, RPRTD A 500' BROKEN TO OVERCAST SKY COND WITH LESS THAN 2 MI VIS & MOD RAIN SHOWERS. THE ACDNT WAS ESTIMATED TO HAVE OCCURRED AT ABT DUSK. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT OR ENG WAS FND.
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: 3,340 hours in all; 330 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 3,225 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,334 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 29, 1989; 101 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: WVI Watsonville CA at 11:00 pm
- Destination: SMO Santa Monica CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 310° at 15 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.