# Accident 20010917026279A: Cessna 210K, Bessemer, AL, September 17, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 17, 2001, 20:23 local time - Place: Bessemer, AL - Airport: Bessemer Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing) - Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135) - Operator: DKBA - Location: 33.3192° N, 86.9707° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.3192&lon=-86.9707&mi=10 - Aircraft: N9455M, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9455M-2005-08-18) (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: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 1,219 total, 275 in this make and model, 204 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL01LA112](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL01LA112) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010917026279A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) PILOT STATED AFTER LANDING, AIRCRAFT BEGAN VEERING TO THE RIGHT. PILOT APPLIED RUDDER FIRST THEN BRAKES AND COULD NOT STRAIGHTEN AIRCRAFT. AIRCRAFT DEPARTED RUNWAY, WENT ACROSS A LARGE GRASS AREA AND CAME TO A STOP IN A RAVINE. INSPECTION OF AIRCRAFT FOUND THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR WAS RETRACTED AND THE LEFT MAIN AND NOSE WHEEL WERE EXTENDED AND LOCKED. NO INJURY TO THE PILOT. AIRCRAFT WAS MOVED TO NEARBY HANGER AND A GEAR SWING WAS PERFORMED SEVERAL TIMES WITH NO DEFECTS NOTED. (.19) ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2001 AT 2023 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 210K, N9455M, RAN OFF THE SIDE OF RUNWAY 23, FOLLOWING A LOSS OF THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR DURING LANDING AT THE BESSEMER AIRPORT, IN BESSEMER, ALABAMA. THE AIRPLANE WAS OPERATED BY THE COMMERCIAL PILOT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 135, AND INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND A IFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED AND THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED IN GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA AT 1930. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, DURING LANDING ROLL THE AIRPLANE KEPT DRIFTING RIGHT, HE APPLIED LEFT RUDDER ALONG WITH BRAKES. HE SAID THAT SUDDENLY THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED THE RUNWAY TO THE RIGHT IMPACTING TREES, SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGING THE AIRPLANE. (.4) ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2001, AT 2023 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 210K, N9455M, REGISTERED TO AIR CARRIERS, INC., AND OPERATED BY THE COMMERCIAL PILOT, COLLIDED WITH TREES OFF THE RIGHT SIDE OF RUNWAY 23 DURING LANDING ROLL FOLLOWING A COLLAPSE OF THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR AT THE BESSEMER AIRPORT, IN BESSEMER, ALABAMA. THE CARGO FLIGHT WAS OPERATED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 135 WITH AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN FILED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED, AND THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED IN GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA, AT 1930. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, THE APPROACH AND TOUCHDOWN WERE NORMAL WITH THE GREEN LANDING GEAR LIGHT ILLUMINATED. DURING LANDING ROLL, THE PILOT BEGAN SLOWING THE AIRPLANE AND IT STARTED DRIFTING TO THE RIGHT. THE PILOT APPLIED LEFT RUDDER AND BRAKES, WHICH FAILED TO CORRECT THE RIGHT DRIFT. THE AIRPLANE THEN SUDDENLY BANKED TO THE RIGHT AND DEPARTED THE RUNWAY AND IMPACTED TREES. BEFORE EXITING THE AIRPLANE, THE PIL OT NOTICED THE GREEN LANDING GEAR LIGHT WAS STILL ILLUMINATED. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE FOUND THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR WAS COLLAPSED. THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER, EMPENNAGE, WINGS, AILERONS, AND LOWER FUSELAGE SUSTAINED DAMAGE. ADDITIONAL EXAMINATION FOUND A FAULTY DOWN-LOCK SWITCH IN THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR. ## 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 ATL01LA112](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL01LA112), Sep 18, 2001: Cessna 210K (N9455M), Bessemer, AL, substantial damage. Probable cause: Failure of the landing gear-down lock mechanism, which resulted in the pilot's inability to control the airplane. A factor was the trees. 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.