Cessna 402B accident near Opa Locka, Florida, April 25, 1986
On April 25, 1986 at about 9:45 pm local time, a Cessna 402B, registered N401NA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Opa Locka, Florida (Opalocka airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 people were 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 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 25, 1986 · about 9:45 pm local time
- Place
- Opa Locka, Florida · Opalocka · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402B · all 402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N401NA · no longer on the register · serial 402B0035
- Damage
- Substantial 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 PLT STATED THAT UPON ARRIVAL AT HIS DESTINATION HE COULD NOT GET HIS LANDING GEAR TO EXTEND. HE THEN RETURNED TO OPA LOCKA AIRPORT WHERE HE INTENTIONALLY LANDED WITH THE GEAR UP. POST CRASH INVESTIGATION OF THE ACFT REVEALED THAT THE LANDING GEAR WOULD NOT COME DOWN NORMALLY DUE TO THE DOWN LIMIT MICRO SWITCH BEING STUCK IN THE OPEN POSITION ALLOWING NO ELECTRICAL POWER TO ACTIVATE THE GEAR MOTOR TOWARD THE DOWN POSITION. ALSO THE GEAR COULD NOT BE MANUALLY CRANKED DOWN BECAUSE THE DRIVE CHAIN ON THE EMERGENCY SYSTEM WAS DISCONNECTED.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 245 in the last 90 days; 5,700 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 749 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MIA Miami FL at 10:08 pm
- Destination: MYAT Treasure Cay OF
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 9R, 3,503 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 070° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:50 pm from MIA, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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 N401NA 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.