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Accidents · NTSB SEA94FA247 · Final report

Cessna 150J accident near Roseburg, Oregon, September 11, 1994

On September 11, 1994 at about 7:00 am local time, a Cessna 150J, registered N5565G, was destroyed in an accident near Roseburg, Oregon. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the terrain.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
September 11, 1994 · about 7:00 am local time
Place
Roseburg, Oregon · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
1 person was killed.
Weather
conditions the NTSB did not record
Aircraft
Cessna 150J · all 150Js on the register
Registration
N5565G · no longer on the register · serial 15071065
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The pilot departed Tonopah, Nevada, on the morning of 9/11/94 with the intention of flying to the Seattle, Washington, area, where he intended to establish a new residence. Although the pilot never arrived in Seattle, family members, who thought he had gone to sea on a merchant ship, did not know the aircraft was missing until it was found by hunters more than a year after it departed Tonopah. Because no one knew the pilot's intended route, or how many days en route he had planned for, the date and time of the accident could not be positively determined. While en route, the aircraft collided with coniferous trees on steeply sloping mountainous terrain. There was no indication of any preimpact airframe or powerplant problems.

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
  • Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
  • Flight time: 510 hours in all
  • Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
  • Seat: left

The aircraft

  • Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
  • Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
  • Seats: 2
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total

The flight

  • Destination: Seattle WA
  • Flight plan: none
  • Runway 0

Weather at the time

  • Light: not reported
  • Sky: not recorded; not recorded
  • Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew1

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.