Cessna T210L N210RE

Summary

On 14 December 2001 at about 23:28 local time, a Cessna T210L registered N210RE was involved in an accident near San Jacinto, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 December 2001 at 23:28

Classification

Accident

Location

San Jacinto, California, United States

Nearest airport

Hemet-Ryan (HMT)

Coordinates

33.8242, -116.8869

Aircraft

Cessna T210L

Registration

N210RE

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Monica → Hemet

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX02FA049

1 person died.

The pilot's loss of situational awareness and his failure to adhere to the prescribed instrument approach procedures, including the track and altitudes flown. The underlying reasons for the pilot's loss of situational awareness are unknown.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a GPS approach, the pilot did not turn onto the prescribed course toward the final approach fix, and he allowed the airplane to prematurely descend below the specified altitude for the route segment until impacting a mountainside in controlled flight. Actual instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, with a low ceiling over the mountains. About 11 minutes before the accident, the radar controller cleared the pilot to perform the GPS approach. The pilot indicated to the controller that he was aware of the initial approach fix's location and crossing altitude. At no time during the approach did the pilot indicate he was experiencing difficulty navigating or request assistance. The pilot initially navigated along the prescribed course. Seconds after passing an intermediate fix where a critical 75-degree course change was required, the controller lost radar and radio contact with the pilot. Rather than proceeding toward the final approach fix along the 153-degree prescribed course, the pilot's track averaged 107 degrees. Also, instead of maintaining the 4,100-foot msl minimum altitude until passing the final approach fix, the pilot descended to 3,550 feet msl. The airplane was equipped with a GPS receiver that had the capability of displaying a "moving" map. The airplane crashed 5.9 nm east of the prescribed course and 550 feet below the authorized altitude. The reason why the pilot lost situational awareness and his track became divergent is unknown.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.