# Accident 19970702020029A: Cessna T210M, Kerrville, TX, July 2, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 2, 1997, 14:30 local time
- Place: Kerrville, TX
- Airport: Kerrville Municipal/Louis Schreiner
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.0409° N, 99.1299° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.0409&lon=-99.1299&mi=10
- Aircraft: N761FM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N761FM-1998-10-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna T210M (registry code 2073451, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-t210m) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA T210M
- Reported engine: CONT TSIO520R
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,028 total, 547 in this make and model, 17 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97LA246](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA246) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970702020029A

## Narrative

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

LOST POWER ON CLIMBOUT. TURNED BACK LANDED GEAR UP SHORT AND SLID ONTO RUNWAY NR1 CLYLINDER HAD DETONATION DAMAGE. (-23) ON TUESDAY JULY 2, 1997, AT APPROXIMATELY 14:40 LOCAL TIME, A CESSNA T-210, N761FM, OWNED BY TYLER TRINITY CORPORATION, CRASH LANDED SHORTLY AFTER TAKE-OFF FROM THE KERRVILLE AIRPORT DUE TO LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE FROM THE GEAR UP LANDING JUST SHORT OF RUNWAY 30 AT THE KERRVILLE AIRPORT. THE PILOT AND THREE PASSENGERS WERE RETURNING HOME FROM A PERSONAL TRIP AND WERE NOT INJURED. POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION ON JULY 2, 1997, REVEALED THAT CYLINDER #1 ON THE TELEDYNE CONTINENTAL MOTORS TSIO-520 ENGINE SHOWED SIGNS OF EXCESSIVE HEAT. UPON REMOVAL OF THE #1 CYLINDER ASSEMBLY, THE PISTON WAS FOUND SEVERELY ERODED AROUND MUCH OF THE UPPER PERIMETER. THIS EROSION COMPLETELY DESTROYED A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE TOP AND SECOND PISTON RING GROOVES. THE TOP OF THE PISTON AND THE COMBUSTION SIDE OF THE CYLINDER HEARD SHOWED SIGNS OF SEVERE PITTING WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY PISTON AND PISTON RING FRAGMENTS. THE INTAKE VALVE WAS ALSO FOUND SEIZED IN THE OPEN POSITION. ON JULY 10, 1997, UTILIZING T                                   HE ASSISTANCE OF MR. JOHN KENT OF TELEDYNE CONTINENTAL MOTORS AND MR. EMILE LOHMAN OF CESSNA AIRCRAFT COMPANY, THE FIVE REMAINING CYLINDERS WERE REMOVED AND FOUND NORMAL. INSPECTION OF THE ENGINE AND ENGINE SYSTEMS DID NOT REVEAL ANY SIGNIFICANT ABNORMALITY WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LIGHT TO MODERATE FOD DAMAGE OBSERVED ON THE INLET SIDE OF THE TURBOCHARGER IMPELLER. THE DAMAGED PISTON AND CYLINDER ARE BEING SENT TO TELEDYNE CONTINENTAL MOTORS FOR FURTHER EVALUATION.

## 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 FTW97LA246](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA246), Jul 2, 1997: Cessna T210M (N761FM), Kerrville, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The disintegration of the #1 cylinder piston resulting from a detonation/pre-ignition condition due to an unknown reason. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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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