ERA25LA067

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna P210 · Ball Ground, GA · November 7, 2024

Accident · No injuriesClass 4 · LimitedFinal report
Date
November 7, 2024, 12:53 local (17:53 UTC)
Place
Ball Ground, GA
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N6444WCessna P210
Defining event
Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control in flight
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
Investigation class
Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
NTSB office
Eastern Region Aviation
Parties
FAA/FSDO
FAA report
20241107021409A
Case key
199389

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 and the flight instructor’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during a simulated loss of engine power during takeoff, which resulted in a runway excursion, and collision with a taxiway sign.

Findings · 3

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · PilotCessna P210N: 18 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause
Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · Instructor/check pilotCessna P210N: 18 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause
Performance/control parametersAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedCessna P210N: 2 casesAll aircraft: 1,269 casesProbable cause

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

While practicing emergency procedures on a recurrent instructional flight, the pilot receiving instruction and the flight instructor completed several takeoffs and circuits around the airport traffic pattern where the pilot demonstrated various emergency procedures. During a subsequent takeoff, the flight instructor simulated a loss of engine power at an altitude of about 50 feet above the ground. As the airplane began to slow, the pilot receiving instruction pulled back on the control yoke to flare. Around this time, the flight instructor attempted to take control of the airplane after stating, “I have the aircraft,” and then tried to decrease the airplane’s pitch attitude, but the pilot receiving instruction was still trying to pull back on the controls, which ultimately resulted in hard landing and subsequent bounce. After the airplane bounced back into the air, the pilot receiving instruction added partial power to ease the second bounce while the flight instructor assumed the control of the airplane and added full power. The airplane then departed the right side of the runway while the flight instructor attempted to avoid an aerodynamic stall. The airplane touched down in the grass on the right side of the runway and bounced again while still at full power, striking a taxiway sign, and resulting in substantial damage to the right side of the empennage, the bottom of the right horizontal stabilizer, and separating the nose wheel from the nose landing gear. The airplane remained in ground effect at low speed while both the flight instructor and the pilot provided control inputs. The pilot then reassumed control of the airplane and maneuvered the airplane back onto the runway where it came to rest. The pilot and the flight instructor both reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Aircraft

Registration
N6444W
Reported as
Cessna P210 (N)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
P210-00781
Built
1982
Airframe hours
6,711
Engine
Continental Motors IO-550-P5B, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · November 14, 2023 · 164 hours before
Destination
Same as departure
Airport
CNI · Cherokee County Rgnl, runway 05/23, 5,003 × 75 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Electronic primary flight display, Onboard weather, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Data recorder

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 · 2

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
64
Injuries
None
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 3, With waivers/limitations
Last flight review
April 13, 2023
Seat
Left
Restraint
4-point
Flight hours
2,733 total · 192.7 in this make and model · 2,654.8 as pilot in command · 23.9 in the last 90 days · 13.6 in the last 30 days · 3.4 in the last 24 hours
Role
Flight instructor
Age
47
Injuries
None
Certificates
Airline transport, Flight instructor
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 1, With waivers/limitations
Last flight review
June 25, 2024
Seat
Right
Restraint
4-point
Flight hours
5,894 total · 621 in this make and model · 3,885 as pilot in command · 105 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
140° at 7 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
2,300 ft overcast
Temperature
75 °F, dew point 64 °F
Altimeter
30.18 inHg
Observed at
CNI
METAR
KCNI 071735Z AUTO 14007KT 100V170 10SM OVC023 24/18 A3018 RMK AO2 T02380183

Docket · 5

The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 13, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.3 MB 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.