Cessna 210 N7736K

Summary

On 18 March 2021 at about 17:53 local time, a Cessna 210 registered N7736K was involved in an accident near Marianna, Florida, United States. 3 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

18 March 2021 at 17:53

Classification

Accident

Location

Marianna, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Marianna Municipal (MAI)

Coordinates

30.8382, -85.1822

Aircraft

Cessna 210

Registration

N7736K

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Savannah → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA159

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the alternator control unit housing plug connection, which resulted in insufficient battery power to fully extend the landing gear. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to not use the emergency gear extension handle to secure the gear prior to landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was diverting to an airport to refuel when the airplane’s turbine inlet temperature (TIT) warning light illuminated. Shortly after, the autopilot “fail” light came on and the autopilot disengaged, followed by other electrical components losing power or ability to operate. The pilot said that he was able to extend the landing gear, but the light that confirmed that the gear was down and locked was not working. He said that the gear sounded and appeared to be fully extended, so he chose not to use the emergency gear extension handle to make sure the gear was fully extended. On the subsequent landing rollout, both main landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the left horizontal stabilizer. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the housing plug for the alternator control unit (ACU) was loosely fitted and not properly mated. It is likely the housing plug came loose during turbulence, and the battery drained to a point that it could not provide adequate electricity to fully extend and lock the landing gear. The pilot reported no previous issues with the electrical system and no maintenance had been done to the ACU after a recent annual inspection.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.