- Date
- April 19, 2006, 20:09 local (Apr 20, 2006, 01:09 UTC)
- Place
- Arkansas City, KS
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7617NCessna T210N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report October 31, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20060419006839A
- Case key
- 63527
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 pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the guide wire resulting in the airplane striking the wire and subsequently impacting the terrain.
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
The pilot reported that they had taken off with the intentions of taking photographs. He said they headed east of the town where the terrain was hilly. The pilot said, "As the terrain came up closer to us, I climbed marginally to photograph the hills." The pilot said that the airplane "struck a guide wire" and that he "set [the airplane] down hard in a plowed field. The airplane caught fire and was totally consumed ..." An examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies.
Factual narrative
On April 19, 2006, approximately 2009 central daylight time, a Cessna T210N, N7617N, was destroyed when during low altitude cruise flight over rising terrain, the airplane struck a guy wire and then impacted terrain near Arkansas City, Kansas. A post-impact fire ensued. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The private pilot and passenger on board the airplane sustained serious injuries.
Local law enforcement personnel at the accident scene reported that the pilot may have been flying low taking pictures when the airplane "struck the power lines." A "power line" was observed being down at the site. The deputy said that a post-crash fire consumed most of the airplane. He also said that the power was out in the area.
The pilot reported they had taken off from Winfield, Kansas, with the intention of taking photographs. He said they headed east of the town where the terrain was hilly. The pilot said, "As the terrain came up closer to us, I climbed marginally to photograph the hills." The pilot said that the airplane "struck a guide wire" and that he "set [the airplane] down hard in a plowed field. The airplane caught fire and was totally consumed ..."
An examination of the airplane showed the guy wire wrapped around the propeller spinner. An examination of the airplane's systems revealed no anomalies.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7617N
- Reported as
- Cessna T210N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21063244
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-R, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Allen Wayne Herman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- WLD · Arkansas, SC
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
- 55
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,700 total · 90 in this make and model · 1,700 as pilot in command · 90 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 350° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- WLD, 6 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.