# Accident 19980331004839A: Cessna P210N, Royal City, WA, March 31, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 31, 1998, 09:40 local time
- Place: Royal City, WA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 46.9018° N, 119.6209° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Royal City, WA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.9018&lon=-119.6209&mi=10
- Aircraft: CGBFM (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA P210N
- Reported engine: CONT TSIO520P
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 3
- Pilot flight hours: 2,100 total
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980331004839A

## Narrative

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

CONTINUED FLIGHT VFR INTO IMC. LOST CONTROL AND CRASHED. (.4)THE FLIGHT TOOK OFF UNDER VISUAL FLIGHT RULES WITH AN APPROXIMATE 1,000 FOOT OVERCAST LAYER.  NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED.  THE ROUTE OF FLIGHT WAS SOUTHBOUND TOWARD AN APPROXIMATE 2,200 FOOT MOUNTAIN RIDGE LINE.  WITNESSES HEARD THE AIRCRAFT FLY OVERHEAD, BUT COULD NOT SEE THE AIRCRAFT DUE TO THE LOW OVERCAST LAYER THAT OBSCURED THE RIDGE.  ANOTHER WITNESS REPORTED THAT HE WAS AT THE TOP OF THE RIDGE ABOUT 20 MINUTES AFTER THE ACCIDENT.  THIS WITNESS REPORTED THAT THE VISIBILITY WAS ABOUT 100 FEET WITH LIGHT DRIZZLE.  AFTER THE OVERCAST LIFTED SEVERAL HOURS LATER, THE WRECKAGE WAS SPOTTED ABOUT 100 FEET BELOW THE RIDGE LINE.  ON-SITE INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THAT THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH THE MOUNTAIN ON A SOUTHERLY HEADING.  WRECKAGE WAS DISTRIBUTED FOR APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET ALONG A 10 DEGREE UPSLOPE.  A POST CRASH FIRE DESTROYED THE CABIN AND A MAJORITY OF THE WINGS.  FOLLOW-UP INVESTIGATION AND ENGINE TEARDOWN DID NOT REVEAL EVIDENCE OF A MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION.                                                        (-23) NO NARRATIVE

## NTSB investigation

None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.