- Date
- August 24, 1990, 21:10 local (Aug 25, 1990, 04:10 UTC)
- Place
- Placerville, CA
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Uncontrolled descent
- Aircraft
- N6985BCessna T-210-M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900824036059A
- Case key
- 26652
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 misidentification of the airport and his failure to select an adequate altitude above the terrain. Factors in the accident were the pilot's disregard for his night time medical limitation and lack of geographic familiarity with the area.
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 and his passengers were to meet another aircraft at a preplanned airport, where they to be picked up by a tour concessioneer at 2100 hours for a campout prior to a river rafting trip. At 2110 hours the aircraft crashed after making a landing attempt at another airport 13 miles beyond the destination airport. Both airports were located on the same VOR radial, 13 miles apart. The mistaken airport was 1300 feet higher in mountainous terrain. The pilot in command had a medical restriction against night flight. The pilot rated passenger was not qualified in the aircraft nor was he night current. The official sunset was at 1950 hours.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6985B
- Reported as
- Cessna T-210-M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21062864
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-R, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Murphy, Timothy
- Registered owner
- Murray, Timothy J.
- Departed
- EMT · El Monte, CA
- Destination
- 061 · Cameron Park, 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
- 51
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 908 total · 221 in this make and model · 798 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 210° at 15 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- MHR, 35 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.