ATL95LA037

The 73-year-OLD commercial pilot had reported on UNICOM that he was landing on runway 13. No subsequent communications were heard. The aircraft was observed on a left base leg for runway 13, but did not turn onto final. The aircraft continued descending, and contacted a utility pole, some buildings, and some vehicles before coming to rest inverted. The landing gear were found extended; the flaps were found retracted. The propeller blades showed evidence of power at impact. Examination of the airframe and powerplant did not reveal evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure. The pilot could not recall the events surrounding the accident.

On January 11, 1995, at 1223 eastern standard time, a Cessna P210R, N5464A, collided with a utility pole and two buildings during the approach to the Lumberton Municipal Airport, in Lumberton, North Carolina. The commercial pilot had serious injuries, and the aircraft had substantial damage. The aircraft was operated under 14 CFR Part 91 by Fort Mill Aviation, Fort Mill, South Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed for the business flight. The flight originated in Rock Hill, South Carolina, at 1135.

The pilot was flying the aircraft from Rock Hill to Lumberton to attend a business meeting. On his flight plan information, the pilot reported that he had 3 hours of fuel on board. He cancelled his IFR flight plan west of Lumberton, and advised on UNICOM frequency that he planned to land on runway 13. No further communications were heard; no distress calls were recorded at any time during the flight.

Witnesses reported that the aircraft was established on a base leg to runway 13, but continued straight ahead, in a descent, without making the left turn onto final. The aircraft collided with a utility pole, followed by a small concrete building, a tree, a shed, and two vehicles. The main wreckage came to rest, inverted, next to a residence. The pilot was transported to a local hospital for treatment, and at the time of this writing, he could not recall specific details of the accident.

An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration visited the accident site and inspected the wreckage. The flaps were found in the retracted (up) position, and the landing gear were found in the extended position. Both wings separated from the airframe during the impact sequence, therefore, documentation of fuel quantity on board at the time of the accident was not possible.

The propeller was shipped to the manufacturer's facility for disassembly and analysis. One blade was twisted toward low pitch, and bent aft about 90 degrees. It exhibited a deep gouge in the leading edge, and chordwise scratching was evident. Another blade was bent in a gradual aft direction, "s" curving was discernible, and there was chordwise scratching visible along the outer 1/3 of the blade length, with a forward blade bend at the tip.

The engine was shipped to the manufacturer's facility for disassembly and inspection. The fuel pump, throttle body, mixture control, fuel manifold valve, and manifold lines were flow checked and found to be within acceptable tolerances. The engine and its accessories were disassembled; there was no evidence of pre-accident malfunction or failure observed. The spark plugs were normal in appearance and wear when compared to a manufacturer's inspection chart, with the exception of the numbers 1,3, and 5 cylinder plugs, which were oil soaked. Both magnetos produced spark at all leads when bench checked.

At the time of the accident, the 73 year old pilot held a commercial pilot certificate, with a single engine land rating. His logbook indicated that he had logged about 4,551 hours of flight time. The FAA inspector reported that most of the pilot's flight time was in Cessna 210 airplanes.