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| Date: | Wednesday 5 February 2003 |
| Time: | 08:46 |
| Type: |  Cessna T210N Centurion |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N4945Y |
| MSN: | 21064052 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1980 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 920 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental TSIO-520-R |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Mission, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Executive |
| Departure airport: | Matamoros Airport (MAM/MMMA) |
| Torreón Airport (TRC/MMTC) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On February 5, 2003, approximately 0850 central standard time (CST), a Cessna T210N single-engine airplane, N4945Y, was destroyed when it experienced an in-flight break up and collision with terrain near Mission, Texas. The airplane was in sales negotiations with a private individual in Mexico, but was registered to the pilot at the time of the accident. The pilot operated the airplane as a Mexican business flight. The U.S. commercial pilot and his two passengers (one of Mexican citizenry and one of U.S.) sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the cross-country flight. The flight originated from Matamoros, Mexico (MMMA), approximately 30 minutes prior to the accident and was destined for Torreon, Mexico (MMTC).
The high-wing airplane suffered an in-flight breakup, while on a cross-country flight in instrument meteorological conditions. The pilot received a weather briefing and filed an instrument flight plan for a cross-country that was to depart from the eastern part of Mexico and was destined for another Mexican city 318 miles west of the departure airport. The pilot was cleared for the flight along a victor airway that headed due west of the departure point. Radar data depicted the airplane parallel to, but north of the airway for the first few minutes of the flight. The airplane then drifted to the northwest and eventually crossed the U.S./Mexican border. The air traffic controllers discussed the airplane's position and whether or not they should notify the pilot he was off course. The controller asked the pilot to confirm his position, and was told, "let me see…we are on your radial…we have a problem with my [unintelligible]…let me check with my other radio." The pilot never reiterated what the problem was. Shortly after this communication, the airplane's mode C data depicted the airplane entering a right descending turn before disappearing from radar. The airplane wreckage was located ¼ mile north of the U.S./Mexican border. All of the airplane fracture surfaces and separated control cables were consistent with overload failures. The attitude indicator gyro and its housing did not display any evidence of rotation at the time of impact, unlike the horizontal situation indicator, which displayed heavy rotational scoring and gouging. No additional anomalies were observed; however, it should be noted that the cockpit sustained heavy impact and fire damage. The pilot records were not located during the investigation, and his total instrument time and instrument currency could not be determined. The maintenance records were destroyed in the accident; however, interviews with maintenance personnel indicated the pilot was aware of attitude indicator problems; however, he had not waited for maintenance to be conducted prior to taking the airplane on the accident flight.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control, which resulted in his exceeding the airplane's design limitation. Contributing factors were the pilot's decision to fly the airplane with known deficiencies with the attitude indicator, and the failure of the attitude indicator.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20030212X00201&key=1
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=56437
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ] |
| 08-Dec-2017 18:03 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Nov-2024 20:42 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Photo, ] |
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