# Accident 20041003025769A: Cessna A185E, Luna, NM, October 3, 2004

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 3, 2004, 09:30 local time
- Place: Luna, NM
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.9133° N, 109.0231° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.9133&lon=-109.0231&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5964, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5964-2013-09-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna A185E (registry code 2072818, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-a185e) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA A185E
- Reported engine: CONT IO520D
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 27,598 total, 1,900 in this make and model, 26 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN05FA003](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN05FA003) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20041003025769A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON OCTOBER 3, 2004, AT APPROXIMATELY 0930 MDT A CESSNA 185, N5964 REGISTERED TO THOMAS RAYBOURN COLLIDED WITH TREES AFTER TAKEOFF FROM A PRIVATE AIRSTRIP NEAR LUNA, NM, WHILE ON A PERSONAL FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AND THE CERTIFICATED AIR LINE TRANSPORT PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE ORIGIN OF THE FLIGHT IS UNKNOWN.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB DEN05FA003](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN05FA003), Oct 3, 2004: Cessna A185E (N5964), Luna, NM, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's improper use of the mixture control, his failure to maintain clearance from the trees, and his improper preflight planning resulting in his taking off into a canyon and subsequently…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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