Cessna 172N accident near Remote, Oregon, May 23, 1985
On May 23, 1985 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N4871G, was destroyed in an accident near Remote, Oregon. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- May 23, 1985 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Remote, Oregon
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N4871G · no longer on the register · serial 17273418
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING A WX BRIEFING, THE NON-INSTRUMENT PLT WAS ADZD THAT VFR FLT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED DUE TO LOW CLOUDS & ADVERSE WX ALONG THE ROUTE. HOWEVER, HE FILED A VFR FLT PLAN & DEPD ARCATA, CA AT 1240 PDT. AT 1339, IN THE VCNTY OF WILDERVILLE, OR, THE PLT GOT A WX UPDATE. HE WAS ADZD OF ISOLATED TSTMS & BROKEN TO SCATTERED CLOUDS TO 4000' WITH AN UPPER LAYER AT OR ABV 8000' & SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS ALONG THE COAST WITH 1000' TO 2000' SCATTERED CLOUDS. MOUNTAIN TOPS WERE FORE- CAST TO BE OBSCURED. THE PLT'S LAST TRANSMISSION WAS AT 1356 PDT NEAR SEXTON MTN PASS, WHEN HE ASKED FOR THE MEDFORD ALTIMETER SETTING. THE ACFT DID NOT ARRIVE AT THE DESTN & WAS NOT FND DURING A SEARCH. IT WAS FND BY HIKERS ON 4/27/90, WHERE IT HAD COLLIDED WITH TREES ON STEEP MTN TERRAIN AT AN ELEV OF APRX 1800'. THE ACFT WAS BADLY DMGD BY IMPACT & FIRE. NO PREIMPACT MECH PROBLEM WAS EVIDENT. DURING IMPACT, THE PROP SEPD FROM THE CRANKSHAFT & BOTH BLADES HAD 'S TURN' DEFORMATION, LEADING EDGE DAMAGE & CORDWISE STRIATIONS.
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
- Flight time: 51 hours in all; 9 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 40 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,006 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 7, 1985; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ACV Arcata CA at 7:40 pm
- Destination: OTH North Bend OR
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 8:40 pm from OTH, 63 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.