- Date
- August 31, 1985, 14:16 local (21:16 UTC)
- Place
- Avalon, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8409MCessna A150K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 27, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850831074919A
- Case key
- 24823
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 said the operation was about 4 and 1/2 hours into a commercial fish spotting flt when the engine 'began to run rough, then quit altogether.' Attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful and the plt completed a power-off ditching at sea. He and the psgr, who was also an experienced plt, said 'the engine stopped abruptly after some internal noise. The prop did not windmill . . . The starter would not turn the propeller.' After ditching, the acft sank in about 300 to 400 ft of water and was not recovered.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8409M
- Reported as
- Cessna A150K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- A15000109
- Airframe hours
- 2,093
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Raymond C. White
- Registered owner
- Patrick M. O'Hare
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 21, 1985 · 55 hours before
- Departed
- MYF · San Diego, CA
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,464 total · 200 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.