Cessna 401 accident near Henderson, Nevada, November 6, 1986
On November 6, 1986 at about 9:44 am local time, a Cessna 401, registered N3219Q, was destroyed in an accident near Henderson, Nevada. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were 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
- November 6, 1986 · about 9:44 am local time
- Place
- Henderson, Nevada · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 401 · all 401s on the register
- Registration
- N3219Q · registry record · serial 4010019
- 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
APPROXIMATELY 5 1/2 MINUTES AFTER DEPARTURE AND WHILE THE AIRCRAFT WAS CLIMBING ENROUTE, AN UNKNOWN IGNITION SOURCE TRIGGERED AN EXPLOSION OF FUEL/AIR VAPOR WHICH EXISTED WITHIN THE INTERIOR OF THE LEFT WING. WING SKIN FROM THE UPPER/LOWER WING SURFACE WAS LOST, HOWEVER, THE WING STRUCTURE REMAINED INTEGRAL AND THE PILOTS CONTINUED TO FLY THE AIRCRAFT EXECUTING A 180 DEGREE COURSE REVERSAL BACK TO MCCARRAN INTNL AIRPORT. SUBSEQUENT TO THE EXPLOSION A FIRE DEVELOPED WITHIN THE LEFT ENGINE AREA. AS THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED BACK TOWARDS MCCARRAN THE AIRSPEED GRADUALLY DIMINISHED AND THE LANDING GEAR WERE LOWERED. SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE LEFT WING ENTERED A STALL CONDITION BROUGHT ABOUT BY A DECREASE OF AIRSPEED AS WELL AS THE DEGRADATION OF ITS LIFT DEVELOPING CAPABILITIES DUE TO THE EXPLOSION INDUCED DAMAGE. THE AIRCRAFT THEN ENTERED AN UNCONTROLLABLE LEFT ROLL SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET ABOVE GROUND FROM WHICH A SUCCESSFUL RECOVERY COULD NOT BE EXECUTED.
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; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,700 hours in all; 17 in this make and model; 56 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,083 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 3, 1986; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire in flight and on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: LAS Las Vegas NM at 9:37 am
- Destination: ABQ Albuquerque NM
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 260° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:47 am from LAS, 4 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.