# Accident 20000726039109A: Cessna 210D, Ashland, VA, July 26, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 26, 2000, 00:28 local time - Place: Ashland, VA - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Climb - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 37.7600° N, 77.4702° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.7600&lon=-77.4702&mi=10 - Aircraft: N3894Y, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3894Y-2001-03-14) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 210D (registry code 2073414, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-210d) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 210D - Reported engine: CONT IO520A - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 300 total, 50 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC00FA209](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC00FA209) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000726039109A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON JULY 26, 2000, AT 0020 LOCAL, A 1964 CESSNA CE-210-D, CENTURION, PILOTED BY ^PRIVACY DA^ OF SUMMIT, NJ, DEPARTED THE HANOVER COUNTY AIRPORT, VIRGINIA, (OFP) RUNWAY 34 BOUND FOR LINDEN, NJ (LDJ) ON AN IFR RNAV FLIGHT PLAN. THE OFFICIAL WEATHER AT 0008 LOCAL WAS: WINDS 020 DEGREES AT 8 KNOTS, VISIBILITY 6 MILES IN LIGHT RAIN AND MIST, CEILING WAS OVERCAST 800 FT, ALTIMETER SETTING WAS 30.14. BEFORE TAKEOFF ATC HAD CLEARED THE FLIGHT TO LINDEN VIA VICTOR 16 TO SMYRNA, ETC. THE A/C TURNED RIGHT AFTER TAKEOFF AND CONTINUED TO TURN RIGHT TOWARD THE SOUTH. UPON REACHING 1400 FT. AND UPON INITIAL RADAR CONTACT, ATC CLEARED THE A/C TO CLIMB TO 5000 FEET DIRECT TO THE TAPPA INTERSECTION TO JOIN VICTOR SIXTEEN. THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED THE CLEARANCE TO TAPPA. HOWEVER, INSTEAD OF TAKING A NORTHEAST HEADING TO TAPPA, THE PILOT CONTINUED TURNING TO A SOUTHBOUND HEADING. THE A/C CONTINUED CLIMBING AND HEADED APPROX. IN A STRAIGHT LINE TO THE SOUTH FOR ABOUT A MINUTE AND A HALF. ATC REQUESTED VERIFICATION THAT THE A/C WAS TURNING TOWARD TAPPA. THE PILOT STARTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE ATC TRANSMISSION SAYING, "CURRENTLY I'M AT AH..."BUT DID NOT GIVE HIS POSITION OR HEADING, AND THE TRANSMISSION ENDED WITH OPEN MIKE SOUNDS. NINE SECONDS LATER ATC ADVISED THE PILOT HE WAS HEADING SOUTH AND ASKED IF HE WANTED A VECTOR HEADING TOWARDS VICTOR SIXTEEN. THE RESPONSE WAS OPEN MIKE SOUNDS ONLY. ATC ATTEMPTED TWO MORE TRANSMISSIONS. THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED THE SECOND TRANSMISSION. AT THIS TIME THE A/C WAS IN A TURN TO THE RIGHT, HEADED SOUTHWEST, AND WAS SOUTH OF THE AIRPORT. ATC ADVISED THE PILOT HE WAS CIRCLING THE AIRPORT AND ADVISED A HEADING OF 060 TO JOIN VICTOR SIXTEEN. WHEN THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED THE VECTOR; THE A/C WAS SOUTHWEST OF THE AIRPORT HEADING APPROX. NORTH AND THE A/C WAS AT 4300 FT. THE A/C TURNED RIGHT TOWARD THE VECTOR. NINETEEN SECONDS LATER THE A/C DESCENDED SUDDENLY AND WENT OUT OF RADAR CONTACT AT ABOUT 2200 FEET. THE A/C CRASHED ONE-QUARTER MILE WEST-SOUTHWEST OF RWY 16 AT OFP. THE PILOT SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON ON BOARD. THE A/C WAS DESTROYED. THE PILOT HAD FLOWN TO OFP FROM LINDEN, NJ EARLIER THAT EVENING. THE PILOT HAD OWNED THE AIRCRAFT FOR LESS THAN SIX MONTHS. THE APOLLO SL-50 GPS NAVIGATION EQUIPMENT WAS ALREADY INSTALLED WHEN THE PILOT BOUGHT THE A/C AND WAS APPROVED FOR IFR ENROUTE AND TERMINAL NAVIGATION ON JANUARY 4, 199 9. THE PILOT'S TOTAL TIME AS A PILOT WAS 088 HOURS AT THE TIME OF HIS MEDICAL ON NOVEMBER 28, 1997 (APPROX. TWO BEFORE TO THE ACCIDENT). HE RECEIVED HIS INSTRUMENT RATING ON SEPTEMBER 17, 1999, LESS THAN ONE YEAR BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. (.4)ON JULY 26, 2000, AT 0028 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 210D, N3894Y, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT STRUCK THE GROUND AFTER TAKEOFF FROM THE HANOVER COUNTY AIRPORT (OFP), ASHLAND, VIRGINIA. THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE FLIGHT DESTINED FOR LINDEN, NEW JERSEY. THE FLIGHT WAS OPERATED ON AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) FLIGHT PLAN THAT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. THE PILOT HAD FLOWN IN EARLIER THE SAME EVENING FROM LINDEN, NEW JERSEY, AT 1815. HE WAS MET BY FRIENDS AND ATTENDED A LOCAL SEMINAR. FOLLOWING THE SEMINAR, WHILE BEING DRIVEN BACK TO THE AIRPORT, THE PILOT CALLED THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA), LEESBURG AUTOMATED FLIGHT SERVICE STATION (AFSS) FOR A WEATHER BRIEFING. ACCORDING TO TRANSCRIPTS FROM THE FAA, INITIAL CONTACT WAS AT 2312, AND WAS TERMINATED BY THE PILOT AFTER 1 MINUTE DUE TO POOR RECEPTION. A SECOND CONTACT OCCURRED AT 2331, AT WHICH TIME THE PILOT ASKED FOR A STANDARD WEATHER BRIEFING. HE WAS GIVEN CONDITIONS OF LOW CEILINGS, REDUCED VISIBILITY, AND RAIN IN HIS DEPARTURE AREA, AND IMPROVING CONDITIONS TOWARD HIS DESTINATION. AT 2359, THE PILOT AGAIN ESTABLISHED TELEPHONE CONTACT WITH THE LEESBURG AFSS, AND FILED AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN. HIS FILED ROUTE OF FLIGHT WAS HANOVER AIRPORT, DIRECT TO EPICS INTERSECTION, THEN VIA VICTOR 376 TO IRONS INTERSECTION, DIRECT NOTTINGHAM VOR, VICTOR 433, DIRECT TO APPLE INTERSECTION, DIRECT LINDEN, NEW JERSEY. THERE WAS THEN A DISCUSSION BETWEEN THE PILOT AND WEATHER BRIEFER ABOUT THE ROUTE, AND THE ROUTE WAS AMENDED TO GO DIRECT FROM THE NOTTINGHAM VOR TO LINDEN AIRPORT. THE PILOT TOLD THE BRIEFER THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS EQUIPPED WITH A GLOBAL POSITIONING NAVIGATION SYSTEM (GPS), AND USED SUFFIX G TO DESCRIBE THE INSTALLED EQUIPMENT. AT 0013:30, ON JULY 26, 2000, WHILE STILL ON THE GROUND AT HANOVER, THE PILOT ESTABLISHED RADIO CONTACT WITH RICHMOND APPROACH CONTROL, AND REQUESTED HIS IFR CLEARANCE. THE CONTROLLER STATED: "NOVEMBER THREE EIGHT NINE FOUR YANKEE, YOU'RE CLEARED TO LIMA DELTA JULIET, VIA VICTOR SIXTEEN TO SM YRNA [VOR], VICTOR TWENTY NINE MODENA [VOR], DIRECT YARDLEY [VOR], VICTOR TWO FOURTEEN METRO [INTERSECTION]...MAINTAIN TWO THOUSAND, EXPECT FIVE THOUSAND WITHIN TEN MINUTES AFTER DEPARTURE, DEPARTURE FREQUENCY WILL BE ONE THREE FOUR POINT SEVEN, SQUAWK TWO ONE SIX ZERO, AND STAND BY FOR THE REST OF THE ROUTING IF THERE IS ANY." THE PILOT READ THE CLEARANCE BACK TO THE CONTROLLER. THE CONTROLLER THEN GAVE A CORRECTION TO THE PILOT, AND THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED THE CORRECTION. THE CONTROLLER THEN TOLD THE PILOT THAT HIS READ-BACK OF THE CLEARANCE WAS CORRECT. AT 0022:07, THE PILOT CALLED FOR RELEASE, AND WAS RELEASED AT 0022:22. WHEN THE PILOT DID NOT REPLY TO THE CONTROLLER'S RELEASE, THE CONTROLLER MADE ANOTHER RADIO CALL TO THE PILOT AND REPEATED THE RELEASE, WHICH WAS THEN ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE PILOT. THE PILOT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY GIVEN A CURRENT ALTIMETER SETTING, WHICH WAS ALSO ACKNOWLEDGED. AT 0025:08, THE PILOT REPORTED, "RICHMOND DEPARTURE, CENTURION THREE EIGHT NINE FOUR YANKEE IS WITH YOU AT ONE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED [FEET], CLIMB TO FIVE [5,000 FEET]. THE CONTROLLER REPLIED, "NOVEMBER THREE EIGHT NINE FOUR YANKEE, DEPARTURE'S RADAR CONTACT, YOU CAN PROCEED DIRECT TAPPA [INTERSE TION], JOIN VICTOR SIXTEEN, MAINTAIN FIVE THOUSAND." THE PILOT REPLIED, "DIRECT TAPPA, JOINING VICTOR SIXTEEN, MAINTAINING FIVE, NINE FOUR YANKEE." AT 0026:40, THE CONTROLLER STATED, "NOVEMBER NINE FOUR YANKEE, VERIFY YOU'RE IN A TURN TOWARDS TAPPA." THE PILOT REPLIED, "AH, CURRENTLY, I'M AT AH....." AFTER SPEAKING, THE RADIO RECORDED AN INCREASE IN BACKGROUND NOISE, SIMILAR TO ENGINE SOUND AND/OR WIND NOISE. AT 0027:10, ANOTHER TRANSMISSION WAS RECEIVED WHERE BACKGROUND NOISE WAS HEARD, BUT NO VOICE TRANSMISSIONS WERE HEARD. AT 0027:24, THE CONTROLLER STATED, "NINE FOUR YANKEE, IT APPEARS YOU'RE SOUTHBOUND, WHY DON'T YOU MAKE A TURN HEADING OF AH ZERO SIX ZERO AND JOIN VICTOR SIXTEEN. NO REPLY WAS RECEIVED FROM THE PILOT. AT 0027:40, THE CONTROLLER STATED, "NOVEMBER NINE FOUR YANKEE, RICHMOND." THE PILOT REPLIED, "YES, NINE FOUR YANKEE," AFTER WHICH, THE CONTROLLER SAID, "NINE FOUR YANKEE, IT APPEARS YOU'RE AH CIRCLING AROUND THE AIRPORT, WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD AND TURN ZERO SIX ZERO AND JOIN VICTOR SIXTEEN ON THAT HEADING. AT 0027:52, THE PILOT REPLIED, "ZERO SIX ZERO, JOINING VICTOR ONE SIX, NINE FOUR YANKEE." NO FURTHER TRANSMISSIONS WERE RECEIVED FROM THE AIRPLANE. ONE WITNE SS REPORTED: "WE...WERE SITTING ON THE COUCH IN THE HOUSE AND WE HEARD A LOUD SOUND LIKE A HIGH-SPEED MOTORCYCLE FOR THREE OR FOUR SECONDS. THEN WE HEARD IT HIT THE GROUND. WE WENT TO HELP LOOK FOR THE PLANE AND IT WAS ABOUT ONE HUNDRED YARDS FROM MY HOUSE. I COULD TELL IT WAS GOING VERY FAST BY THE NOISE THAT IT WAS MAKING." A SECOND WITNESS REPORTED: "I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK ON SLIDING HILL ROAD, AND AS I APPROACHED THE AIRPORT, I SAW THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDING AT AN ANGLE TOWARD THE GROUND. IT WAS PERPENDICULAR TO THE RUNWAY AND PARALLEL TO THE ROAD I WAS ON. IT WAS 12:30 AT NIGHT, RAINING, AND I HAD THE WIPERS AND THE CAR RADIO ON. THE AIRCRAFT ENGINE IS WHAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION FIRST BECAUSE IT WAS LOUD. THE LIGHTS ON THE AIRCRAFT WERE ON. THE PLANE APPEARED TO BE IN WHOLE, NOT IN PIECES." A THIRD WITNESS REPORTED THAT HE HAD LIVED NEAR AIRPORTS FOR MANY YEARS AND WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE SOUND OF DEPARTING AIRPLANES. HE SAID THAT HE HEARD THE TAKEOFF AND THE ENGINE WAS, "VERY POWERED UP." HE HEARD THE AIRPLANE HEADING AWAY FROM THE AIRPORT, TO THE EAST, AND THE NOISE GOT FAINTER. THE ENGINE NOISE THEN GOT LOUDER AS THE AIRPLANE RETURNED, AND THE ENGINE WAS SCREAMING. HE COULD HEAR THE ENGINE NOISE RISE AND FALL THREE TIMES BEFORE HEARING A THUD. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED DURING THE HOURS OF DARKNESS, AT 37 DEGREES, 41.924 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE, AND 77 DEGREES, 26.016 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE. ## 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 NYC00FA209](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC00FA209), Jul 26, 2000: Cessna 210D (N3894Y), Ashland, VA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The failure of the pilot to maintain control of the airplane due to spatial disorientation. Factors were the dark night, low ceiling and fog. ## Other reports on N3894Y (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19750902029109A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19750902029109A), Sep 2, 1975: Cessna 210D (N3894Y), Beecher, IL, Substantial damage. Plt did not turn on elec fuel pump when he switched fm l to r fuel tank. L tank dry. Soybean fld. 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.