# Accident 19980827022259A: Cessna 210D, Sturgis, MI, August 27, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 27, 1998, 18:40 local time - Place: Sturgis, MI - Airport: Kirsch Municipal Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 41.8000° N, 85.4200° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.8000&lon=-85.4200&mi=10 - Aircraft: N524BL, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N524BL) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 210D (registry code 2073414, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-210d) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 210D - Reported engine: CONT IO520A - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 148 total, 61 in this make and model, 109 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98LA341](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA341) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980827022259A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT LANDED GEAR UP. (.19) ON AUGUST 27, 1998, AT 1840 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME (EDT), A CESSNA 210D, N524BL, OPERATED BY A PRIVATE PILOT, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHEN DURING AN APPROACH FOR LANDING, THE PILOT NOTICED THAT HIS LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR WAS NOT COMPLETELY DOWN. FOLLOWING SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO LOWER THE GEAR, THE PILOT SUBSEQUENTLY RAISED THE GEAR AND LANDED THE AIRPLANE ON ITS BELLY. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONIDTIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CR PART 91. THERE WAS NO FLIGHT PLAN ON FILE. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER ON BOARD THE AIRPLANE REPORTED NO INJURIES. THE CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT COLDWATER, MICHIGAN, AT 1800 EDT, AND WAS EN ROUTE TO STURGIS, MICHIGAN. (.4) THE PILOT ENTERED A LEFT DOWNWIND FOR RUNWAY 6, AT THE KIRSCH MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, STURGIS, MICHIGAN. BELOW 140 KNOTS, THE PILOT LOWERED THE GEAR, AND PUT THE FLAPS DOWN. HE LOOKED AT THE LANDING GEAR MIRROR AND SAW THAT THE LEFT MAIN GEAR DID NOT LOOK RIGHT. THE GEAR POSITION INDICATOR LIGHTS WERE ALL GREEN, INDICATING THE GEAR WAS DOWN AND LOCKED. THE PILOT ABORTED THE APPROACH AND CLIMBED OUT TO THE WEST OF THE AIRPORT. THE PILOT RECYCLED THE GEAR 4 TO 5 TIMES. HE COULD GET THE LEFT GEAR TO SWING, BUT COULD NOT GET IT ALL THE WAY DOWN INTO THE LOCKED POSITION. THE PILOT EXECUTED A LOW APPROACH OVER THE FIELD TO HAVE THE GEAR CONFIGURATION VERIFIED BY PEOPLE ON THE GROUND. AFTER AN HOUR IN THE AIR, THE PILOT RETRACTED THE GEAR AND BELLY-LANDED THE AIRPLANE ON RUNWAY 18. EXAMINATION OF THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR REVEALED THAT THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR SADDLE WAS CRACKED THROUGH. NO OTHER ANOMALIES WERE FOUND. (-23) LEFT LANDING GEAR SADDLE CRACKED IN HALF PREVENTING GEAR FROM EXTENDING NORMALLY. PILOT LANDED AIRCRAFT GEAR UP ON RUNWAY 18-36. TOUCHDOWN BUCKLED THE FUSELAGE IN A "U" PATTERN SHAPE JUST AFT OF THE REAR BULKHEAD PLACING THE DAMAGE INTO THE ACCIDENT CATEGORY. ## 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 CHI98LA341](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA341), Aug 27, 1998: Cessna 210D (N524BL), Sturgis, MI, substantial damage. Probable cause: the cracked left main landing gear saddle, resulting in the pilot's inability to get the gear into the down and locked position. ## Other reports on N524BL (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19920615022489I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19920615022489I), Jun 15, 1992: Cessna 210D (N524BL), Macon, GA, Minor damage. Unsafe gear indication on approach. Gear collapsed on landing rollout. 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.