Cessna 402B accident near Rochester, New York, December 22, 1984
On December 22, 1984 at about 10:33 pm local time, a Cessna 402B, registered N8064Q, was destroyed in an accident near Rochester, New York (Rochester-Monroe CO. airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was 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
- December 22, 1984 · about 10:33 pm local time
- Place
- Rochester, New York · Rochester-Monroe CO. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402B · all 402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N8064Q · no longer on the register · serial 402B0400
- 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
PRIOR TO TKF THE PLT WAS INFORMED OF WIND SHEAR AS CENTERFIELD WINDS AS 270 DEG AT 25 KTS GUST TO 46 KTS & NW BOUNDARY WINDS AS 280 DEG AT 13 KTS. DURING TKF THE PLT REPORTED AN OPENED DOOR & REQUESTED TO RETURN TO LAND. THE ACFT TURNED LEFT AND DESCENDED TO THE GROUND. EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT DID NOT DISCLOSE EVIDENCE OF MALFUNCTION. EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT DOORS REVEALED THE RIGHTSIDE CARGO DOOR SECURING MECHANISMS WERE RELATIVELY UNDAMAGED. FLIGHT TEST CONDUCTED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF A OPENED DOOR DISCLOSED IN PART THE FOLLOWING. THE DOOR WILL OPEN AND REMAIN OPEN DURING ROTATION; RESULTS IN NOISE & VIBRATION; NO ABNORMAL FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS; NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN MULTIENGINE CLIMB PERFORMANCE. PLT LANDING IN JET ACFT PRIOR TO ACCIDENT REPORTED MODERATE TURBULENCE WITH A PLUS OR MINUS 10 TO 15 KTS CHANGE IN AIRSPEED FROM 2000 FT MSL TO THE SURFACE
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,066 hours in all; 260 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 1,957 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,194 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 7, 1984; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Falcon Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ROC Rochester NY at 10:33 pm
- Destination: TEB Teterboro NJ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 28, 550 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,800 ft; scat at 2,400 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:52 pm from ROC
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.