Cessna P210N N41KA

Summary

On 11 August 2012 at about 01:11 local time, a Cessna P210N registered N41KA, operated by McMillan M Sean, was involved in an accident near Santa Monica, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 August 2012 at 01:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Monica, California, United States

Nearest airport

Santa Monica Airport (SMO)

Coordinates

34.0458, -118.4319

Aircraft

Cessna P210N

Registration

N41KA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

McMillan M Sean

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Monica → Santa Monica

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12FA349

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain altitude during a return to the airport following an unspecified emergency; the nature of the emergency could not be determined because postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

About 15 minutes after departure, the pilot contacted air traffic control and requested a return to the departure airport without indicating the reason. About 10 minutes later, the pilot was instructed to enter a right base leg for the runway and was subsequently cleared to land behind traffic. One minute later, the pilot declared an emergency, but he did not identify the nature of the emergency. No further transmissions were made by the pilot. The airplane then collided with treetops on a southeasterly heading about 3 miles northeast of the airport and continued about 200 feet before striking the top of a palm tree and falling to the ground. A postcrash fire consumed the majority of the airplane. Postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The engine spark plugs were covered in heavy, dark soot indicative of an extremely rich mixture condition, which could have resulted in a loss of engine power. The engine was examined and subsequently placed on a test stand. After repairs were made to facilitate an engine run, the engine started, ran, and responded to throttle movements with no discrepancies noted. The reason for the return to the departure airport and subsequent reported emergency could not be determined. The investigation found that the pilot may have had therapeutic levels of doxylamine, a sedating antihistamine, in his blood about the time of the accident. However, based on the circumstances of the accident, it is unlikely that pilot impairment from doxylamine contributed to the accident. Further, the carbon monoxide present in the pilot's blood is consistent with postaccident exposure to combustion products.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.