Cessna 340A accident near Mesquite, Nevada, August 26, 1986
On August 26, 1986 at about 4:00 am local time, a Cessna 340A, registered N340MV, was destroyed in an accident near Mesquite, Nevada. It was a business 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
- August 26, 1986 · about 4:00 am local time
- Place
- Mesquite, Nevada
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 340A · all 340As on the register
- Registration
- N340MV · no longer on the register · serial 340A0209
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE EN ROUTE, THE PLT WAS CLEARED TO DEVIATE 20 DEG LEFT OF COURSE TO AVOID THUNDERSTORM (TSTM) ACTIVITY THAT ARTCC RADAR SHOWED WAS RGT OF COURSE. THE PLT RPRTD TURBC, BUT DEMURRED DESCENDING TO A LOWER ALT DESPITE A PIREP OF CLEAR WX BELOW. HE THEN RPRTD 'IN A CELL' WITH TURBC. RADAR & RADIO CONTACT WITH THE ACFT WERE LOST. ANOTHER PLT, WHO FLEW APRX 15 MI FURTHER SOUTH, RPRTD NO WX, BUT SAID THERE WAS EXTREME WX TO THE NORTH WITH NEAR CONSTANT LIGHTNING. SUBSEQUENTLY,N340MV IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A STEEP NOSE-DOWN, LEFT WING LOW ATTITUDE, AFTER A 14,000 FT DSCNT. THE LANDING GEAR WAS EXTENDED WHEN THE PLANE CRASHED. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO PREIMPACT STRUCTURAL FAILURE OR ACFT COMPONENT MALFUNCTION. ALSO, THE WRECKAGE SHOWED NO EVIDENCE OF WEATHER DAMAGE FROM HAIL OR LIGHTNING. HOWEVER, WX INFO SHOWED THERE WAS HIGH ALT TSTM ACTIVITY WITH TURBC IN THE AREA AT THE TIME OF THE MISHAP.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: gyroplane; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: gyroplane
- Flight time: 20,000 hours in all; 14 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,480 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 3, 1986; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,990 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-N (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BUR Burbank CA at 2:30 am
- Destination: 2V5 Wray CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 8:51 pm from LAS, 77 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.