- Date
- August 7, 1998, 16:39 local (22:39 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N732RDCessna 210M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980807020189A
- Case key
- 43670
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
A power loss for reasons undetermined. A factor was unsuitable terrain on which to make a forced landing.
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 stated the fuel tanks were serviced to capacity and she departed Albuquerque, New Mexico, and flew to Las Cruces and Silver City, New Mexico. She departed Silver City and was returning to Albuquerque. She was cleared to land on runway 3. As she descended over Belen, New Mexico, she switched the fuel selector from the right tank to the left tank. About 8 miles southwest of Albuquerque, the engine started to 'cut out.' She turned on the boost pump to restore fuel flow. Shortly thereafter, the engine 'stopped completely.' Unable to glide to the airport, she turned the airplane towards an open sandy area on top of a mesa and made a forced landing 6 miles from the runway. Upon touching down, the airplane settled into the soft ground. The nose landing gear was torn off and the airplane nosed over. An FAA inspector went to the accident site and reported finding fuel in the fuel tanks.
Factual narrative
On August 7, 1998, at 1639 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 210M, N732RD, operated by New Mexico Flying Service doing business as B&M Enterprises, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during a forced landing at Albuquerque, New Mexico. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company VFR flight plan had been filed for the nonscheduled domestic cargo flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 135. The flight originated at Silver City, New Mexico, at 1533.
According to the pilot's accident report, the fuel tanks were serviced to capacity and she departed Albuquerque, New Mexico, and flew to Las Cruces and Silver City, New Mexico. She departed Silver City and was returning to Albuquerque. She was cleared to land on runway 3. As she descended over Belen, New Mexico, she switched the fuel selector from the right tank to the left tank. About 8 miles southwest of Albuquerque, the engine started to "cut out." She turned on the boost pump to restore fuel flow. Shortly thereafter, the engine "stopped completely." Unable to glide to the airport, she turned the airplane towards an open sandy area on top of a mesa and made a forced landing 6 miles from the runway. Upon touching down, the airplane settled into the soft ground. The nose landing gear was torn off and the airplane nosed over. An FAA inspector went to the accident site and reported finding fuel in the fuel tanks.
An airplane discrepancy report, filed the previous day by another pilot, indicated the engine was "running rough - need to run engine rich to smooth out." Corrective action taken included inspecting the fuel injectors, cleaning and testing the spark plugs, and checking the induction tubes.
Several months after the accident, the airplane was bought back from the insurance company by New Mexico Flying Service. In the process of rebuilding the airplane, the company's maintenance director examined the engine and reported finding no mechanical abnormalities.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N732RD
- Reported as
- Cessna 210M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21061706
- Airframe hours
- 9,108
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-L, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- New Mexico Flying Service, doing business as B & M Enterprises
- Registered owner
- Billy J. Ware
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 13, 1998 · 73 hours before
- Departed
- 94E · Silver City, NM
- Destination
- ABQ · Albuquerque, NM
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 43
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,140 total · 1,185 in this make and model · 3,060 as pilot in command · 170 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ABQ, 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.