# Accident 19980405010459A: Cessna T210L, Santa Teresa, NM, April 5, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: April 5, 1998, 10:00 local time - Place: Santa Teresa, NM - Airport: Santa Teresa Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Descent - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 31.8397° N, 106.6809° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.8397&lon=-106.6809&mi=10 - Aircraft: N591DC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N591DC-2012-09-10) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna T210L (registry code 2073449, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-t210l) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental TSIO-520 series (registry code 17040, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA T210L - Reported engine: CONT TSIO520H - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 518 total, 420 in this make and model, 10 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98LA173](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA173) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980405010459A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. INSTRUMENT COMPETENCY CHECK FROM CFI. ENGINE BLEW UP. LANDED DIRT ROAD. NOSED OVER 915 HRS SINCE TBO. (-23) ON APRIL 5, 1998, PILOT BRYAN ROBERT SANDERSON, CERTIFICATE NUMBER 463416518, WAS FLYING HIS CESSNA 210, N591DC, WITH INSTRUCTOR FOREST GENE DAWSON, CERTIFICATE NUMBER 1984210, ON AN INSTRUMENT PROFICIENCY/CURRENCY FLIGHT. THEY FLEW FROM SANTA TERESA, DOAN ANA COUNTY AIRPORT (5T6) ON A ROUND ROBIN FLIGHT TO DEMING (DMN) NEW MEXICO, TO SILVER CITY, GRANT CO. (SVC), AND BACK TO SANTA TERESA. ABOUT 15 MILES OUT FROM SANTA TERESA PILOT SANDERSON CALLED IN FOR AN AIRPORT ADVISORY. AT ABOUT 5 MILES OUT HE CALLED AGAIN FOR TRAFFIC. RIGHT AFTER THAT THE ENGINE STARTED VIBRATING AND SMOKING. MR. SANDERSON CALLED SANTA TERESA AND DECLARED AN EMERGENCY. HE HAD BEEN DESCENDING AND GRADUALLY PULLING THE POWER OFF. WHEN THE ENGINE QUIT HE HAD BEEN AT 20 INCHES AND 2300 RPM. MR. SANDERSON TRIMMED FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING. HE CALLED THEIR LOCATION IN TO SANTA TERESA AIRPORT. HE WAS AT ABOUT 5900' AND SELECTED A ROAD TO LAND ON THAT WAS ADJACENT TO THE RAILROAD. BOTH PILOTS TIGHTENED THEIR SEAT BELTS AND SHOULDER HARNESSES. THEY SAW A POWERLINE IN FRONT OF THEM AND MADE A JUDGMENT THAT THEY COULD NOT CLEAR IT. THEY PUT THE GEAR DOWN AND THE FLAPS OUT AND WENT UNDER THE POWERLINE. THE DIRT ROAD HAD HIGH BANKS ON BOTH SIDES. AS THEY ROLLED OUT THE LEFT WING CAUGHT ON THE RAILROAD TIE FENCE POSTS THAT LINED THE RAILROAD. THIS PULLED THE PLANE TO THE LEFT AFTER HITTING ABOUT 5 POSTS. THE NOSE GEAR CAUGHT AND THE PLANE FLIPPED OVER. MR. SANDERSON EXITED HIS WINDOW AND WENT AROUND AND HELPEDMR. DAWSON GET HIS BELT OFF AND EXIT THE WINDOW. NEITHER PILOT LOST CONSCIOUSNESS. PEOPLE FROM THE AIRPORT ARRIVED IN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES. THERE WAS SITLL ABOUT 60 GALLONS OF FUEL IN THE TANKS, BUT THERE WAS NO FIRE. BOTH PILOTS SPENT SEVERAL DAYS IN THE HOSPITAL WITH HEAD INJURIES. THERE WAS SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. AIRWORTHINESS INSPECTOR TERRY W. MARTIN, FROM THE ALBUQUERQUE FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE, LOOKED AT THE PLANE ON APRIL 8, 1998. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS A HOLE IN THE ENGINE CASE AND THAT THE NUMBER 5 CYLINDER HAD THROWN A CONNECTING ROD. ## 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 FTW98LA173](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA173), Apr 5, 1998: Cessna T210L (N591DC), Santa Teresa, NM, substantial damage. Probable cause: failure of the number 1 piston, which resulted in loss of engine power and a subsequent forced landing. The lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing was a related factor. 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.