- Date
- August 26, 1986, 15:53 local (22:53 UTC)
- Place
- Salton City, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5135ACessna P210N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19860826044339A
- Case key
- 25239
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
A total loss of power was experienced during a descent from 17,500' MSL to 10,000' MSL. Attempts to restart the engine failed and the acft was landed gear-up in a rocky field. Post accident inspection disclosed a track of internal electrical arcing in the distributor section of both magnetos. The slick magnetos, model number 6220, had a total time since new of 401 hours. The acft service instructions suggest the magneto breaker compartment be inspected during the first 25 hour acft inspection and during each subsequent 100 hour inspection. The acft had received an annual inspection 36 hours prior to the accident. The manufacturers seal on the breaker compartment screw heads had not been broken indicating the magnetos were not inspected during the annual inspection.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5135A
- Reported as
- Cessna P210N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- P21000831
- Airframe hours
- 401
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-AF, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Frank G. Jameson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 15, 1987 · 36 hours before
- Departed
- BUR · Burbank, CA
- Destination
- UDD · Bermuda Dunes, CA
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
- 62
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,600 total · 200 in this make and model · 70 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 97 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TRM, 23 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.