# Accident 19991030029649A: Cessna 210K, Ponca City, OK, October 30, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: October 30, 1999, 18:00 local time - Place: Ponca City, OK - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 36.6997° N, 97.1497° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.6997&lon=-97.1497&mi=10 - Aircraft: N1162M, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1162M-2009-12-14) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 210K (registry code 2073446, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-210k) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 210K - Reported engine: CONT IO520L - People aboard: 4 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 908 total, 246 in this make and model, 32 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW00LA028](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW00LA028) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19991030029649A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON OCTOBER 30, 1999, AT 1800 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 210K, N1162M, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING IN A FIELD NEAR PONCA CITY, OKLAHOMA. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE PRIVATE PILOT. THE PILOT AND HIS THREE PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED. THE CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE LUBBOCK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, LUBBOCK, TEXAS, AT 1500 AND WAS DESTINED FOR THE SMYRNA AIRPORT, SMYRNA, TENNESSE. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, THE AIRPLANE WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT 7,500 FEET. HE REDUCED THE THROTTLE AND INITIATED A DESCENT. HE WAS MONITORING THE MANIFOLD PRESSURE (MP) TO ENSURE THAT IT STABILIZED AT 21 INCHES FOR THE DESCENT, BUT IT CONTINUED TO DECREASE BELOW 21 INCHES UNTIL IT REACHED IDLE (APPROXIMATELY 12 INCHES). THE PILOT CYCLED THE THROTTLE, BUT THE MANIFOLD PRESSURE DID NOT RESPOND. THE PILOT INITIATED A FORCED LANDING TO A FIELD. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST UPRIGHT, IN MUDDY TERRAIN. ACCORDING TO THE FAA INSPECTOR, THE ENGINE FIREWALL WAS DISPLACED AND THE NOSE LANDING GEAR SEPARATED FROM THE AIRFRAME. ADDIT IONALLY, THE INSPECTOR NOTED THAT THE THROTTLE CONTROL CABLE WAS SEVERED. (-23)PRIVATE PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA OMI^ALONG WITH THREE PASSENGERS, DEPARTED LUBBOCK, TX. ENROUTE TO BRENTWOOD, TN. NEAR PONCA CITY, OK. THE PILOT ELECTED TO LAND AT WHICH TIME HE DISCOVERED THAT HE HAD NO THROTTLE CONTROL. AFTER THE THROTTLE WAS INTIALLY RETARDED, THE PILOT WAS UNSUCCESSFUL IN APPLYING POWER. WHEN THE PILOT REALIZED THAT HE COULD NOT MAKE PONCA CITY AIRPORT, AN EMERGENCY WAS DECLARED AND AN EMERGENCY LANDING WAS PERFORMED IN A WET, PLOWED FIELD, APPROX. 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PONCA CITY, OK AIRPORT. THE PILOT AND THREE PASSENGERS RECEIVED NO INJURIES. (.4)ON OCTOBER 30, 1999, AT 1800 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 210K, N1162M, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING FOLLOWING A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER NEAR PONCA CITY, OKLAHOMA. THE PRIVATE PILOT, WHO WAS THE REGISTERED OWNER AND OPERATOR OF THE AIRPLANE, AND HIS THREE PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE LUBBOCK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, LUB BOCK, TEXAS, AT 1500 AND WAS DESTINED FOR THE SMYRNA AIRPORT, SMYRNA, TENNESSEE. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, THE AIRPLANE WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT 7,500 FEET AND HE WAS DIVERTING AROUND WEATHER WHEN HE DECIDED TO LAND AT THE PONCA CITY MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, PONCA CITY, OKLAHOMA. HE RETARDED THE THROTTLE INTENDING TO REDUCE THE MANIFOLD PRESSURE FROM 24 INCHES TO 21 INCHES. AS THE MANIFOLD PRESSURE DROPPED BELOW 21 INCHES THE PILOT INCREASED THE THROTTLE; HOWEVER, THE MANIFOLD PRESSURE CONTINUED TO DECREASE UNTIL THE NEEDLE REACHED THE LOWEST READING ON THE GAUGE. THE PILOT EXERCISED THE THROTTLE THROUGH ITS FULL RANGE, BUT THE ENGINE DID NOT RESPOND. HE THEN EXECUTED A FORCED LANDING TO A MUDDY FIELD. AN FAA INSPECTOR EXAMINED THE AIRPLANE AND REPORTED THAT THE NOSE LANDING GEAR SEPARATED AND THE ENGINE FIREWALL WAS DISPLACED. HE FOUND THAT THE THROTTLE CONTROL CABLE HAD SEPARATED. THE THROTTLE CONTROL CABLE (CESSNA PART NUMBER C299505-0101), WHICH WAS INSTALLED NEW 71.3 HOURS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, WAS EXAMINED BY AN NTSB METALLURGIST AT THE NTSB MATERIALS LABORATORY IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THE CABLE SEPARATED AT THE CONNECTION POINT BETWEEN THE FLEXIBLE SECTION AND THE RIGID ROD WHICH IS E NCAPSULATED BY A BRASS SLEEVE. THE FLEXIBLE SECTION IS COMPRISED OF A STRAND OF SEVEN 0.0162 INCH-DIAMETER WIRES SURROUNDED BY A COILED SPRING CORD. EXAMINATION OF THE FRACTURE SURFACE ON THE COILED SPRING CORD WITH A LOW POWER BINOCULAR MICROSCOPE REVEALED THAT A PORTION OF THE FRACTURE SURFACE WAS FLAT AND CONTAINED FEATURES INDICATIVE OF PROGRESSIVE CRACKING. A 0.15 INCH LONG SECTION OF THE COILED SPRING CORD ADJACENT TO THE FRACTURE SURFACE WAS CUT AND EXAMINED WITH A SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE (SEM). THE METALLURGIST OBSERVED THAT "50% OF THE FRACTURE FACE ON THIS CORD CONTAINED SMOOTH, SILKY FEATURES AND CRACK ARREST POSITIONS, TYPICAL OF THE FATIGUE PROGRESSION." TWO AREAS OF FATIGUE WERE NOTED. THE ORIGINS OF THE TWO FATIGUE ZONES WERE LOCATED AT THE INSIDE DIAMETER SURFACE OF THE CORD. THE SEM EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE SURFACE OF THE WIRE FROM WHICH THE CORD WAS CONSTRUCTED HAD A COARSE TEXTURE AND CONTAINED TOOL MARKS AND SURFACE FISSURES. THE FATIGUE CRACKING ORIGINATED FROM ONE OF THE FISSURES. THE WIRE STRANDS WERE ALSO EXAMINED WITH AN SEM. THE EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT ALL OF THE WIRES SEPARATED AS A RESULT OF "REVERSE BENDING FATIGUE WITH INITIATION SITES ON APPROXIMATELY DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE INDIVIDUAL WIRES." ADDITIONALLY, NO CORROSION OR DEPOSITS WERE OBSERVED ON THE EXTERIOR OF THE CORD. THE MANUFACTURER OF THE THROTTLE CABLE, ARENS CONTROLS INC., OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, PERFORMED A TENSILE STRENGTH TEST ON AN A 3-FOOT SECTION OF EXEMPLAR CABLE FROM THEIR INVENTORY. THE CABLE WAS TESTED IN A CALIBRATED PULL TEST SCALE. THE CABLE FAILED AT 415 POUNDS. ACCORDING TO ARENS, THIS "EXCEEDS THE TENSILE STRENGTH REQUIREMENT OF 375 POUNDS" FOR THIS TYPE CONTROL CABLE. ## 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 FTW00LA028](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW00LA028), Oct 30, 1999: Cessna 210K (N1162M), Ponca City, OK, substantial damage. Probable cause: Inadequate quality control by the manufacturer of the throttle control cable, which resulted in failure of the cable due to fatigue. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing. ## Other reports on N1162M (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 20070219002409A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20070219002409A), Feb 19, 2007: Cessna 210K (N1162M), Lago Vista, TX, Destroyed, 1 fatal. (-23) During final approach, the aircraft struck terrain one half mile from the airport. Aircraft was destroyed on impact and post fire. Pilot was fatally… - [Incident 20050601010749I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050601010749I), Jun 1, 2005: Cessna 210K (N1162M), Lago Vista, TX, Minor damage. (-23) On landing at largo Vista (Rusty Allen) airport (5R3), plane struck a deer damaging the nose landing gear, propeller and underside of the fuselage. 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.