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LAX85FA202 · Cessna 172M

14 Apr 1985 · Camp Verde, AZ, United States

Cessna 172M and Piper PA-28-140 · Accident: midair collision while maneuvering

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Event

NTSB case
LAX85FA202
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
2 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
General aviation
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Aircraft 1 · Cessna 172M

Aircraft type
Cessna 172
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N73708
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From Scottsdale Airport (SDL), Scottsdale, AZTo Sedona Airport (SEZ), Sedona, AZ
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Maneuvering
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
Midair collision
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Destroyed

Aircraft 2 · Piper PA-28-140

Aircraft type
Piper PA-28
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N6439R
Operator
William R. Thompson · private individual
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From Scottsdale Airport (SDL), Scottsdale, AZTo Sedona Airport (SEZ), Sedona, AZ
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Maneuvering
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
Midair collision
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Substantial

Cause areas

  • Miscellaneous › Loss, total
  • Pilot in command › Aircraft handling, not possible
  • Pilot in command › Clearance, misjudged
  • Pilot in command › Clearance, not maintained
  • Pilot in command › In-flight planning/decision, poor
  • Pilot in command › Judgment, poor
  • Pilot in command › Ostentatious display
  • Pilot in command › Overconfidence in personal ability
  • Pilot in command › Remedial action, reduced
  • Pilot of other aircraft › Clearance, misjudged
  • Pilot of other aircraft › Clearance, not maintained
  • Pilot of other aircraft › In-flight planning/decision, poor
  • Pilot of other aircraft › Judgment, poor
  • Pilot of other aircraft › Ostentatious display
  • Pilot of other aircraft › Overconfidence in personal ability
  • Stabilizer › Separation

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

BOTH ACFT INVOLVED IN THE COLLISION WERE PART OF A 4-PLANE FORMATION FLT EN ROUTE TO A GROUP FLY-IN. N6439R WAS SEEN TO CHANGE POSITIONS SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE FLT WHILE THE OTHER ACFT REMAINED STABLE. REPORTS FROM WITNESSES SAY THAT N6439R MADE 'CLOSE APPROACHES' & 'CROSS UNDERS' OF THE OTHER ACFT IN THE FLT. THE PLT OF N73708 SAID THAT FROM OFF HIS RIGHT SIDE 39R BANKED LEFT TO APPROACH HIS ACFT. WHEN THE BANK ANGLE OF 39R HAD NOT CHANGED AT 50 YDS DISTANCE, THE PLT OF 708 SAID HE STARTED A HARD EVASSIVE LEFT TURN BUT THE PROP OF 39R STRUCK THE BOTTOM OF HIS ACFT. THE VERSION TOLD BY THE PLT OF 39R WAS IN DISAGREEMENT WITH THE EVIDENCE & THE MAJORITY OF THE WITNESSES. ALL 3 OF THE 100 HR PVT PLTS SAID THEY WERE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH WHAT THE PLT OF 39R WAS DOING, BUT SINCE HE HAD A COM/CFII & 900 HRS, THEY THOUGHT 'HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING.'

Verbatim NTSB analysis from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record LAX85FA202
Event ID
20001214X36208
Case number
LAX85FA202
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: c6e933aece5e08f2106198436b556637e2efc29490a0404fbe6804bf2ef2388a; retrieved 2026-09-21T05:04:14.141Z.