FLIGHT FINDINGSAVIATION OCCURRENCE MAP
Back to map

LAX85FA355 · Cessna 150L

18 Aug 1985 · Rialto, CA, United States

Rialto Aviation Cessna 150L and MAR-Flite CHRISTIAN EAGLE II CHRISTIAN · Accident: in flight collision with object during takeoff

Show on map Search Wikipedia NTSB source dataset
Report a problem

Event

NTSB case
LAX85FA355
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
0 · 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 150L

Aircraft type
Cessna 150
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
N19530
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From not recordedTo not recorded
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
Takeoff · roll/run
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
In flight collision with object
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 · MAR-Flite CHRISTIAN EAGLE II CHRISTIAN

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
N42SH
Operator
Melton L. Bacon · private individual
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From not recordedTo not recorded
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
Landing · flare/touchdown
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
In flight collision with object
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Destroyed

Cause areas

  • Object › Aircraft moving on ground
  • Pilot in command › Visual lookout, not maintained
  • Pilot of other aircraft › Visual lookout, not maintained

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

NTSB narrative

THE CHRISTIAN EAGLE BIPLANE WAS RETURNING FROM A LOCAL INTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT AND ENTERED THE PATTERN ON A NORMAL 45 DEGREE ENTRY, ANNOUNCING POSITION AND INTENTIONS ON THE UNICOM FREQUENCY. THE CESSNA 150 WAS DEPARTING THE AIRPORT ON A LOCAL INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT AND HAD JUST COMPLETED AN ENGINE RUNUP AND TAXIED ONTO THE RUNWAY. THE BIPLANE PILOT SAID HE WAS IN A 3 POINT LANDING ATTITUDE, WHICH PRECLUDED FORWARD VISIBILITY. THE CESSNA 150 PILOT SAID HE LOOKED BOTH ON FINAL AND BASE LEGS PRIOR TO INITIATING THE TAKEOFF. JUST AFTER THE CESSNA 150 MOVED ONTO THE RUNWAY AND ADDED POWER THE FOR THE TAKEOFF, THE CHRISTIAN EAGLE COLLIDED WITH THE CESSNA'S RIGHT WING AT ABOUT THE MID SPAN POINT. THE COMMUNICATIONS RADIO HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM THE CESSNA 150 FOR MAINTENANCE REPAIR. THE CLOSEST OFFICIAL WEATHER REPORTING STATION, 8 MILES EAST, LISTED A VISIBILITY OF 2 MILES IN HAZE AND SMOKE, HOWEVER, BOTH PILOTS AND OTHER WITNESSES SAID THE VISIBILITY AT THE AIRPORT WAS '3 MILES.'

Verbatim NTSB analysis from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record LAX85FA355
Event ID
20001214X37512
Case number
LAX85FA355
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: 0f79e4db38031592c9052a91efb1ccd98b2b75ea66a8e38c138412135430276a; retrieved 2026-09-21T17:11:09.278Z.