# Accident 19961225040709A: Cessna 210L, Brackettville, TX, December 25, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 25, 1996, 19:15 local time
- Place: Brackettville, TX
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 29.3103° N, 100.4091° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.3103&lon=-100.4091&mi=10
- Aircraft: N30891, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N30891-1998-09-01) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 210L (registry code 2073448, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-210l) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 210L
- Reported engine: CONT IO520L
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 236 total, 76 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97FA073](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97FA073) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19961225040709A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.4)THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE NORTHWEST FACING SLOPE OF A RIDGE AT AN ELEVATION OF 1,950 FEET MSL, WHILE CONFIGURED FOR CRUISE FLIGHT. THIS OCCURRED AS THE NONINSTRUMENT-RATED PRIVATE PILOT WAS RETURNING HOME ON A NIGHT VFR FLIGHT OVER HILLY AND SPARSELY POPULATED TERRAIN. LOW CEILINGS PREVAILED THROUGHOUT THE AREA. THE PILOT'S INSTRUCTOR STATED THAT THE PILOT KNEW THE AREA WELL, AND THAT HE WAS AWARE OF THE RISING TERRAIN. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR RECALLED THAT HE TALKED TO THE PILOT ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE ACCIDENT, AND AFTER DISCUSSING THE WORSENING WEATHER CONDITIONS, HE ENCOURAGED THE PILOT TO STAY IN DEL RIO THAT NIGHT. THE PILOT WAS IN REAL ESTATE BUSINESS. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR BELIEVED THE PILOT FELT PRESSURED TO GET HOME THAT EVENING, BECAUSE HE HAD A NINE O'CLOCK APPOINTMENT THE NEXT MORNING IN AUSTIN TO INSPECT A PROPERTY THAT HE HAD SOLD. THE FLAPS AND LANDING GEAR WERE FOUND IN THE RETRACTED POSITION. THE ELEVATOR TRIM WAS FOUND IN THE NEUTRAL POSITION. NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. (-23) ON DECEMBER 25, 1996, AT 1915 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 210L, N30891, WAS DESTROYED UPON IMPACT, WITH TERRAIN WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT NEAR  BRACKETTVILLE, TEXAS. THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PRIVATE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW97FA073](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97FA073), Dec 26, 1996: Cessna 210L (N30891), Brackettville, TX, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: failure of the pilot to maintain sufficient altitude and/or clearance from terrain, while on a cross-country flight at night. Factors relating to the accident were: darkness, the prevailing low…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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