Cessna 210 N6572X

Summary

On 24 January 2003 at about 02:01 local time, a Cessna 210 registered N6572X was involved in an accident near Clarence, Iowa, United States. 4 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 January 2003 at 02:01

Classification

Accident

Location

Clarence, Iowa, United States

Coordinates

41.8847, -91.1531

Aircraft

Cessna 210

Registration

N6572X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kirksville → Waupaca

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CHI03LA059

Nobody was injured.

A failure of the crankshaft for undetermined reasons. Factors associated with the accident were the rough terrain on which the forced landing was made and the night conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot made a gear-up off airport landing following a loss of engine power. The pilot reported he added a quart of oil and strained the fuel tanks prior to the flight. He reported that during the flight while passing through 4,700 feet on his way up to 5,500 feet, the engine started sputtering and shaking. The pilot reported he switched fuel tanks, and adjusted the mixture, propeller control, and throttle. He stated the manifold pressure was indicating the high 20's and he was not sure if the engine was running. He reported the airplane was now at 3,700 feet and descending about 1,000 feet per minute. According to his global positioning system (GPS) the nearest airport was 9.8 miles away. After considering his landing options, the pilot elected to land in an area that was a "big black nothing." The pilot reported that he lowered the landing gear, but it did not engage in the down and locked position. He stated he was going to use the emergency extension hand pump, but he was getting low and decided to concentrate on flying the airplane. The forced landing was made in a harvested cornfield and the airplane contacted a barbwire fence prior to coming to a stop. The engine, a Continental IO-470-E, serial number 77543-O-E, had 1259.28 total hours when it was overhauled on June 30, 1971. The last logbook entry that listed a time since major overhaul (SMOH) for the engine was dated October 29, 2002. The time SMOH listed was 1237 hours. Total time on the airplane at the time of the accident was 2591.69 hours. Post accident inspection revealed it was difficult to turn the propeller by hand. There was a large amount of oil on the bottom of the engine cowling and no oil was found on the dipstick. The source of the oil leak was not determined. Further inspection revealed the crankshaft was broken between the number 2 and number 3 cylinders.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.