- Date
- September 14, 1991, 03:37 local (10:37 UTC)
- Place
- Rialto, CA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N6558XCessna 210
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report July 23, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910914039999A
- Case key
- 27025
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 inadequate weather evaluation and poor inflight planning/decision. The pilot's impairment due to the use of drugs was a factor in the accident.
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 passenger departed their home base at 0200 hours in the morning for an hour-plus flight to meet a friend at a non-controlled airport. A nearby controlled airport ATIS was reporting an 800 foot overcast with 2 miles in fog. Radar data indicates the pilot circled the intended airport at about 0330 hours while descending. Local area residents and police stated the visibility was obscured in dense fog with occasional breaks. The pilot descended into semi-level terrain about 2 miles north of the intended destination airport. There was no record of a preflight weather briefing. Toxicological analysts revealed 2.1 mg/kg of methamphetamine in the pilot's liver. Drug paraphernalia was located at the accident site. The passenger also had methamphetamine in his blood.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6558X
- Reported as
- Cessna 210
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 57558
- Engine
- Continental IO-470-E, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Melvin C. Bingham
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- VGT · Las Vegas, NV
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
- 53
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 665 total · 329 in this make and model · 613 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 240° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 800 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Observed at
- ONT, 11 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.
Other investigations on N6558X · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.