N1215MCessna T210M · 1977

On May 2, 2021, at 1552 central daylight time, a Cessna T210M airplane, N1215M, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Oxford, Iowa. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

According to air traffic control information, the pilot contacted the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, tower controller and reported that he was going to perform landings at Green Castle Airport (IA24), Oxford, Iowa, located about 8 miles south of CID.

A witness located adjacent to the runway at IA24 reported the airplane entered a left traffic pattern for runway 15. After touchdown, the airplane bounced, and the right wing lifted up to an estimated 45° angle. The airplane’s wings then leveled, and the airplane bounced a second time. The airplane landed, exited the runway surface to the left, and entered a harvested corn field. The witness then heard the engine increase to full power, and the airplane pilot attempted to take off from the field. The airplane impacted a power pole and power line near the corner of the field and subsequently impacted terrain; a postcrash fire ensued. The witness estimated the wind to be from the west about 20 knots at the time of the accident.

According to the pilot’s operating handbook for the airplane, the maximum demonstrated crosswind velocity for takeoff or landing was 21 knots.

At 1452, the CID automated surface observing system reported wind from 200° at 20 knots gusting to 28 knots. The peak wind was from 220° at 30 knots.

According to the pilot’s operating handbook for the airplane, the maximum demonstrated crosswind velocity for takeoff or landing was 21 knots.

The main wreckage was located in a harvested corn field about 750 ft east of the end of runway 15. Landing gear tire marks were noted in the field and measured about 1,200 ft in length. The distance from the end of the tire marks to the power pole/power line was about 300 ft. Figure 1 shows the end of runway 15, tire marks in the field, power lines, and accident site with the postaccident fire damage.

Figure. Image showing the end of runway 15, tire marks in the field, power lines, and accident site with the postaccident fire damage

A separated outboard section of the left wing was located between the power pole and main wreckage. The main wreckage, which was consumed by fire, comprised the fuselage, empennage, engine, and propeller assembly. The propeller assembly was separated from the engine crankshaft and found embedded in the soft terrain. Flight control continuity was established to all flight control surfaces and cockpit flight controls. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Toxicology testing performed at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory found 6 (mg/dL) glucose in the pilot’s urine. Carboxyhemoglobin, ethanol, and drugs were not detected in the pilot’s specimens.

On April 5, 2017, at 1410 central daylight time, a Cessna 210M single-engine airplane, N1215M, experienced a right main landing gear collapse at the Detroit Lakes Airport (DTL), Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer. The airplane was registered to Great Plains Leasing, LLC, Dickinson, North Dakota, and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a positioning flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a flight plan was not filed. The flight departed the Moorhead Municipal Airport (JKJ), Moorhead, Minnesota, about 1350.

According to the pilot, before the accident flight, the airplane had been experiencing intermittent landing gear problems, and the purpose of the flight was to bring the airplane to a maintenance facility at DTL to examine the landing gear system. Before the flight, the landing gear circuit breaker was pulled out "in order to keep the gear in the down position and eliminate the gear warning horn" for the flight to DTL. While landing at DTL, the pilot noticed the left wing slightly dropped after touchdown, and the pilot corrected with aileron to maintain runway centerline. Shortly thereafter, the pilot could feel the right main landing gear slowly collapse. The pilot was unable to maintain the airplane on runway centerline, and the airplane exited the runway surface. The airplane came to rest upright with the right main landing gear collapsed, and the right horizontal stabilizer was bent.

On April 18, 2017, the airplane was examined by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector and a mechanic. During the initial examination, the landing gear was retracted and extended multiple times. Each gear retraction was normal, and the gear extension cycle resulted in the left main and nose gear extending and locking, and the right gear extending with no movement from the downlock actuator. After loosening the hydraulic line fittings at the downlock actuator, hydraulic fluid was present at the actuator. The actuator was removed for further examination, and was found difficult to move. According to the inspector, after removal, the actuator released, and the internal spring mechanism freely moved the actuator. The actuator was disassembled with no internal problems noted.

On April 24, 2017, a former pilot of the accident airplane stopped into the FAA office in Fargo, North Dakota, to discuss the accident. According to the pilot, he had previously flown the airplane in September 2016 from DTL to JKJ, and experienced an unsafe gear warning horn and advised the airplane owners. During his landing, he landed with the landing gear pump circuit break in and the gear warning horn functioning. He stated that with the landing gear pump operating (circuit breaker in), the pump pressure on the landing gear actuator held the gear in the "saddle" until the airplane was on the ground. The weight of the wheels would then keep the gear in the down position. To his knowledge, the airplane had been in storage since his flight.

According to the Cessna Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH), Section 3, Emergency Procedures, Landing Gear Malfunction Procedures, all landing gear malfunction scenarios listed in the POH require the landing gear pump circuit breaker to be in the "IN" position.