Cessna T210N N5244A

Summary

On 20 November 2003 at about 01:25 local time, a Cessna T210N registered N5244A was involved in an accident near Bellevue, Idaho, 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

20 November 2003 at 01:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Bellevue, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

43.4464, -114.2189

Aircraft

Cessna T210N

Registration

N5244A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Boise → Hailey

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

SEA04FA020

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude above mountainous terrain while maneuvering during descent. Factors included the mountainous terrain, the high wind condition, and dark night light conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident airplane departed Boise, Idaho, about 1745 for a planned flight to Hailey, Idaho. No flight plan was filed for the flight. At 1816:27 the pilot contacted the Hailey tower and reported that he was ten west of the Hailey non-directional beacon, and at 1816:33 the controller instructed the pilot to report a 3 mile final for runway 31. At 1818:38 the pilot informed the controller, "...we're gonna do a three sixty out here and lose altitude if that's ok," which the controller approved. At 1823:22 the controller requested the pilot's position. The pilot replied he was about 5 miles from the field at 7,500 feet and "...getting set up again." At 1823:30 the controller cleared the flight to land on runway 31, and at 1823:34 the pilot made a partial reply of, "...clear ta..." There were no further communications with the pilot. At 2113 an ALNOT was issued for the missing aircraft. Approximately 1600 on November 24, 2003, the wreckage was located by local search and rescue personnel on the northeast side and 307 feet below the summit of Lookout Mountain, elevation 7,539 feet above mean sea level. Lookout Mountain is located about 6 nautical miles southeast of the Hailey airport. Terrain rises to 7,988 feet above mean sea level (MSL) within 5 nautical miles east of the accident site, and to 8,468 feet MSL within about 5 nautical miles north of the accident site. The airplane had impacted steep rising mountainous terrain on a southwesterly heading in a slightly right wing low, level pitch attitude. Investigators did not find any evidence of pre-impact mechanical or structural malfunctions of the aircraft during post-accident examinations. Dark night visual meteorological conditions existed at the time of the accident, with broken clouds at 11,000 feet MSL near the destination. The pilot of an aircraft in front of the accident aircraft reported that winds aloft and en route before turning onto the final approach course were at least 50 knots from the west and that while on final approach he had to hold a significant crab into the wind from the west to keep lined up with the runway. Another pilot in the area, a flight instructor, said he experienced a wind shear condition on final.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.