# Accident 20021021028249A: Cessna 210C, Riverside, CA, October 21, 2002 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: October 21, 2002, 10:02 local time - Place: Riverside, CA - Damage: Substantial damage - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.0333° N, 117.5000° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.0333&lon=-117.5000&mi=10 - Aircraft: N9788X, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9788X-2009-02-09) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 210C (registry code 2073412, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-210c) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental I0-470 series (registry code 17027, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-i0-470-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 210C - Fatal injuries: 0 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX03LA014](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA014) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021021028249A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON OCTOBER 21, 2002, ABOUT 1002 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 210C, N9788X, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN DURING A FORCED LANDING NEAR RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA. THE AIRPLANE WAS OPERATED BY THE PILOT/OWNER UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. THE COMMERCIAL RATED PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES; THE REMAINING PASSENGER SUSTAINED A SERIOUS INJURY. THE AIRPLANE WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE DESTINATION AIRPORT AND AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH WAS IN PROGRESS. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT GALLUP, NEW MEXICO, ABOUT 0645 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, AND WAS DESTINED FOR ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA. THE AIRPLANE LOST ENGINE POWER DURING THE INSTRUMENT APPROACH INTO ONTARIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND THE PILOT EXECUTED A FORCED LANDING ON A HILL ABOUT 5 MILES EAST OF THE AIRPORT. ACCORDING TO FLIGHT PLANNING INFORMATION RECOVERED FROM INSIDE THE AIRPLANE, IT HAD DEPARTED GALLUP WITH FULL FUEL (65.0 USEABLE GALLONS). THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN AIRBORNE FOR ABOUT 3:17 HOURS AT THE TIME OF THE POWER FAILURE. PRIOR TO DISASSEMBLY OF THE AIRPLANE FOR RECOVERY, THE FUEL TANKS WERE DRAINED. THE LEFT TANK HAD ABOUT 13 GALLONS OF BLUE LIQUID WITH THE ODOR OF AVIATION GASOLINE. THE RIGHT TANK WAS EMPTY. (-23) ON OCTOBER 21, 2002, AT APPROXIMATELY 1002 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 210C, N9788X, DURING A FORCED LANDING IN GLEN AVON, CALIFORNIA, COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN. THE AIRPLANE WHICH WAS OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE COMMERCIAL RATED PILOT SUSTAINED MINOR INJURES; TWO PASSENGERS SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE DESTINATION AIRPORT AND AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH WAS IN PROGRESS. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT OPERATING UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 OF THE FEDERAL AVIATION REGULATIONS ORIGINATED AT GALLUP, NEW MEXICO, APPROXIMATELY 0645 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, AND WAS DESTINED FOR ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA. THE AIRPLANE LOST ENGINE POWER DURING THE INSTRUMENT APPROACH INTO ONTARIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND THE PILOT EXECUTED A FORCED LANDING ON A HILL AT APPROXIMATELY THE 1500 FT LEVEL, ABOUT FIVE MILES EAST OF THE AIRPORT. WEATHER AT THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS INSTRUMENT CONDITIONS. PRIOR TO RECOVERY OF THE AIRPLANE THE FUEL TANKS WERE DRAINED. ABOUT 13 GALLONS OF FUEL WAS RECOVERED FROM THE LEFT TANK AND THE RIGHT TANK WAS EMPTY. RESULT OF THE TEARDOWN INVESTIGATION OF THE AIRPLANE BY THE NTSB AND THE OEM'S REVEALED NO FINDINGS TO SUBSTANTIATE TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. IN FOLLOW-UP CONVERSATION WITH THE NTSB, THE PILOT ADMITTED THAT THE CONTROLLER KIND OF CAUSED HIM AN INTERRUPTION IN HIS THOUGHT PROCESS AND HE MAY HAVE RUN A FUEL TANK DRY AT A CRITICAL TIME. HE SAID HE KIND OF REMEMBERED THE CONTROLLER HAVING HIM ON HOLD IN PREPARATION FOR HIS INSTRUMENT APPROACH IN WHAT WAS A SERIOUS IFR CONDITION. ## 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 LAX03LA014](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA014), Oct 21, 2002: Cessna 210C (N9788X), Riverside, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to position the fuel selector to the tank containing fuel resulting in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. 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.