Cessna 210 N7464E

Summary

On 27 October 2009 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna 210 registered N7464E, operated by William L. Gold, was involved in an accident near Walsh, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 October 2009 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Walsh, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

37.3478, -102.2578

Aircraft

Cessna 210

Registration

N7464E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

William L. Gold

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ulysses → Farmington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10LA032

1 person had minor injuries.

A partial loss of engine power due to failure of the No. 2 cylinder as a result of the failure of the repair facility to properly torque the lower four nuts on the cylinder.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was in level cruise flight at 6,500 feet mean sea level when the pilot "detected a slight smoke smell." Oil pressure and oil temperature readings were normal, but he noticed the EGT (exhaust gas temperature) on one of the cylinders had dropped, followed shortly thereafter by the EGT decay of another cylinder. The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing in an open field. Recent rains had softened the ground and when the nosewheel touched down, the airplane nosed over. An FAA airworthiness inspector who examined the engine said that the cylinder hold-down studs on the lower side of the number 2 cylinder had threads, but one stud had snapped off. Further examination of the engine revealed that the lower four nuts on the number two cylinder were not properly torqued, which allowed the lower side of the cylinder to move while the upper part remained fixed. A crack developed on the right side of the cylinder and propagated along the bottom lip to the left side of the cylinder, eventually reaching the point of failure. When the annual and 100-hour inspections were done on August 21, 2009, all 6 cylinders had been removed “due to low compression” and replaced with overhauled cylinders, new pistons and rings, and new gaskets and seals. Airframe total time was 3,797.79 hours, and the time since major engine overhaul was 1,239.82 hours. The tachometer read 2960.72. At the accident site, the tachometer read 3059.41 hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.