- Date
- February 12, 2003, 21:20 local (Feb 13, 2003, 03:20 UTC)
- Place
- Bolivar, TN
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6ZZCessna P210N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report September 1, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Memphis FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030213037679A
- Case key
- 56486
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A factor was trees.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the pilot during cruise flight at 6000 feet, the engine power began to decrease. The engine continued to run but was not producing full power. Repeated efforts by the pilot to restore full engine power failed. The pilot radioed Memphis Approach control, and reported an in-flight emergency due to an engine failure. The controller issued the pilot radar vectors to William L. Whitehurst Field, Bolivar, Tennessee. The airplane collided with trees five miles south of the airport. Examination of the airplane revealed that it was heavily fire damaged. There were no abnormalities discovered during the examination of the engine.
Factual narrative
On February 12, 2003, at 2120 central standard time, a Cessna P210N, N6ZZ, registered to a private owner and operated by a commercial pilot reported an in-flight emergency due to an engine failure while enroute to Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee. The pilot made a forced landing onto unsuitable terrain. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with an instrument flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot and the passenger received minor injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight originated from Greenville Downtown Airport, Greenville, South Carolina on February 12, 2003, eastern standard time, at 1848.
According to the pilot during cruise flight at 6000 feet, the engine power began to decrease. The pilot checked the quantity of the fuel tanks, and fuel was present. According to the pilot the engine continued to run but was not producing full power. Repeated efforts by the pilot to restore full engine power failed. The pilot radioed Memphis Approach control, and reported an in-flight emergency due to an engine failure. The controller issued the pilot radar vectors to William L. Whitehurst Field, Bolivar, Tennessee. The airplane collided with trees in a heavily wooded area 5 miles south of the airport, and there was a post-crash fire.
Examination of the airplane revealed the airplane was heavily fire damaged. Examination of the engine was conducted at Teledyne Continental Motors, Inc. on October 29, 2003, with FAA and NTSB representatives present. There were no abnormalities discovered during the examination of the engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6ZZ
- Reported as
- Cessna P210N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- P21000558
- Airframe hours
- 2,600
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520 SER, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Joseph Henry Schaffer III
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2002
- Departed
- GMU · Greenville, SC
- Destination
- MEM · Memphis, TN
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- M08 · William L. Whitehurst Field
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- April 26, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,049 total · 43 in this make and model · 981 as pilot in command · 37 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 32 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.31 inHg
- Observed at
- MKL, 23 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 18, 2004, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 242 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.