Cessna 402C incident near West Palm Beach, Florida, April 20, 1985
On April 20, 1985 at about 12:43 pm local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N6879Y, suffered minor damage in an incident near West Palm Beach, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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 incident. 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 20, 1985 · about 12:43 pm local time
- Place
- West Palm Beach, Florida
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N6879Y · no longer on the register · serial 402C0612
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED ON TOUCHDOWN. AN EXAM OF THE NOSE GEAR ACTUATING ROD, THE ONLY POSITIVE DOWN LOCK, REVEALED THAT IT HAD BEEN IMPROPERLY ADJUSTED.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,105 hours in all; 1,503 in this make and model; 125 in the last 90 days; 3,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,530 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, April 17, 1985; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,350 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520VB (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Aero Coach Aviation Int'L,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: FLL Ft.Lauderdale FL at 12:30 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 2,200 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:49 am from PBI
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.
Other NTSB records under N6879Y the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.