Cessna TR182 accident near Tillamook, Oregon, September 10, 1987
On September 10, 1987 at about 10:35 pm local time, a Cessna TR182, registered N9484R, was destroyed in an accident near Tillamook, Oregon (Tillamook airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- September 10, 1987 · about 10:35 pm local time
- Place
- Tillamook, Oregon · Tillamook · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna TR182 · all TR182s on the register
- Registration
- N9484R · no longer on the register · serial R18200709
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG ARRIVAL, THE PLT WAS CLEARED FOR AN NDB-A APCH & RECEIVED APPROVAL TO CHANGE TO THE LOCAL ADZY FREQ. AFTER THAT, THERE WAS NO FURTHER RADIO COMM WITH THE ACFT. RADAR DATA SHOWED THE ACFT CROSSED OVER THE INITIAL APCH FIX (IAF) & BEGAN A RGT OUTBOUND TURN TOWARD THE PROCEDURE TURN AREA. RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST ABT 3 MI WEST OF THE IAF. WHEN THE ACFT DID NOT ARRIVE, A SEARCH WAS INITIATED. IT WAS FND THE NEXT DAY WHERE IT HAD CRASHED IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AT AN ELEV OF ABT 1100'. IMPACT OCCURRED IN A STEEP NOSE DOWN, LEFT WING DOWN ATTITUDE. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MAL- FUNCTION OF THE ACFT OR ENG WAS FND. PERSONNEL AT THE ARPT (ELEV 35') ESTD THE WX WAS ABOUT 1000' OVERCAST, 5 MI VIS WITH LIGHT RAIN & FOG. A HELICOPTER PLT, WHO WAS SEARCHING FOR THE DOWNED ACFT, RPRTD THE MTNS & HILLS IN THE AREA WERE OBSCURED BY CLOUDS. HE WAS UNABLE TO REACH THE AREA OF THE CRASH SITE ON THE DAY OF THE ACDNT DUE TO RAIN & FOG.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 547 hours in all; 18 in this make and model; 98 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 352 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,342 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 8, 1987; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-L3C5D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1S4 Scappoose OR at 10:13 pm
- Destination: S47 Tillamook OR
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 8 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:50 pm from AST, 42 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.