- Date
- December 16, 1982, 18:30 local (Dec 17, 1982, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Benavides, TX
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N5906MCessna 340
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report December 16, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19821216064949A
- Case key
- 69926
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
A deer hunter saw the aircraft on a final approach to an open field at dusk, with the gear and flaps down. He stated that when it was at about 100 ft AGL, the nose pitched down and the plane struck the ground and burst into flames. The aircraft was loaded with an estimated 600 lbs of marijuana, most of which was consumed by fire. A high altitude navigational chart was found near the wreckage. The chart contained a line between two navigational points (one in Mexico & one in the united states). The aircraft had been stolen.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5906M
- Reported as
- Cessna 340
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 340-0064
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-1, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- David Russell Burton
- Registered owner
- Raymond Tamez Jr.
- Departed
- Guadalajara
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 579 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 70° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Temperature
- 151 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ALI, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.