- Date
- January 7, 1985, 10:50 local (18:50 UTC)
- Place
- Death Valley, CA
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8889ABeech B-35
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850107000359A
- Case key
- 24454
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
The plt got an extended wx fcst the day prior to departure which indicated bkn to ovc clouds based at about 8,000 ft for the first part of the trip & sct to bkn clouds for the last half. Mountain areas were predicted to be obscured. Plt was encouraged to call in the morning for a detailed update, however, no record of any contact was found. No flt plan was filed & the acft departed at about 0900 hrs on an unknown route for the destination. The acft wreckage was located by ELT signal & search acft at 6,200 ft MSL on a mountain side at the end of a box canyon. A witness at the bottom of the canyon (about 4,000 ft MSL) reported visibility 100 ft in fog & rain at the time of the accident. Wx conditions along the general route of flt were worse than the fcst plt received the day prior, with ceilings in 3,000 ft range & tops to 22,000. Destination aprt was one-quarter mile in snow at the time of the accident. The wx conditions on the day of the accident were accurately reported in wx info available to the plt
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8889A
- Reported as
- Beech B-35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-2544
- Airframe hours
- 3,467
- Engine
- Continental E-225-4, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Corona Aircraft Inc.
- Registered owner
- James Rengert
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 7, 1984 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- L66 · Corona, CA
- Destination
- 043 · Carson City, NV
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 400 total · 10 in this make and model · 15 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 100 ft
- Temperature
- 34 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.