# Accident 20170708011479A: Cessna 210B, Bettles, AK, July 8, 2017

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 8, 2017, 11:00 local time
- Place: Bettles, AK
- Airport: Wild Lake
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 67.4994° N, 151.5758° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=67.4994&lon=-151.5758&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9664X, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9664X-2018-10-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 210B (registry code 2073410, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-210b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental I0-470 series (registry code 17027, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-i0-470-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 210B
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 3,612 total, 509 in this make and model, 82 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB GAA17CA474](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA17CA474) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170708011479A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

PILOT TOOK OFF FROM BETTLES IN THE CESSNA 210 EN ROUTE TO WILD LAKE AND WAS ALONE IN THE AIRCRAFT.  THE AIRSTRIP AT WILD LAKE IS A VERY SMALL NARROW LANDING STRIP ALONG THE LAKE SHORE.  PILOT LANDED SHORT OF THE AIRSTRIP AND TOUCHED DOWN INTO THE LAKE.  HE SAID WITH THE REFLECTION ON THE LAKE AND SUN HE HAD A "MIRAGE" EFFECT AND THOUGHT HE WAS HIGHER THAN HE ACTUALLY WAS.  HE WAS ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE AIRCRAFT AND SWIM TO SHORE.  THE AIRCRAFT SANK INTO THE LAKE IN APPROXIMATELY 500 FEET OF WATER.  THE AIRCRAFT IS PROBABLY UNRECOVERABLE.

## 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 GAA17CA474](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA17CA474), Jul 8, 2017: Cessna 210 (N9664X), Bettles, AK, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain an appropriate glidepath during the approach to the runway over glassy water and in glaring sun conditions.

## Other reports on N9664X (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 20000219002979I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000219002979I), Feb 19, 2000: Cessna 210B (N9664X), Visalia, CA, Minor damage. Mr. Charles howard tarski, a private pilot, was acting as pilot in command of a Cessna 210B, N9664X, on 2-19-2000, departing willows-glennco (wlw), willows,…

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.

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