Cessna 210K N1162M

Summary

On 19 February 2007 at about 22:00 local time, a Cessna 210K registered N1162M was involved in an accident near Lago Vista, Texas, 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

19 February 2007 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lago Vista, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Lago Vista Bar-K Airpark (5R3)

Coordinates

29.6095, -95.6098

Aircraft

Cessna 210K

Registration

N1162M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lago Vista → Houston

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW07FA073

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain. A factor was the pilot's diverted attention with a reported autopilot malfunction.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument rated private pilot departed a non-towered airport on a 131-nautical mile cross-country flight. About 55 miles from the departure airport, he reported an autopilot/runaway trim problem to an air traffic controller. During the return to his departure airport, the pilot told the controller, that he was pulling circuit breakers, and that he did not need any assistance. Additionally, the pilot reported that this problem had been an intermittent problem in the past. Review of radar data revealed the airplane's normal departure and 180-degree turn back to its departure airport. The radar data also revealed that the airplane's departure track as a straight-line, with little deviation in altitude or airspeed. When the airplane returned to its departure airport, it descended to an altitude of 2,200 feet mean sea level (msl), and proceeded northwest, just beyond the airport. For the next 52-minutes, the airplane was observed on radar executing a series of irregular, non-uniform circuits, that included left and right turns, climbs and descents. The first series of circuits were made within about 5-miles of the airport before the last series, which were made within about a 10-mile radius of the airport. There were no reported witnesses to the accident. Emergency personnel located the crash site, approximately 1 mile short of the approach end of the active runway, shortly after the airplane disappeared from radar. Impact marks on the respective trees indicate the airplane impacted the trees and terrain in a near wings level attitude at cruise speed. At the time of the accident, the airplane was configured with the flaps retracted. The position of the landing gear could not be determined. Examination of the airplane and engine did not disclose any evidence of any malfunction or pre-impact anomaly. The elevator trim tab drive mechanism measured 2-inches, which is consistent with about a 15-degree tab up (nose down) pitch setting. A post-crash fire consumed most of the airplane. The reason for control flight into the ground could not be determined. The winds at the time of the mishap were reported from 180-degrees at 14 knots, gusting to 19 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.