- Date
- December 21, 1991, 17:50 local (Dec 22, 1991, 01:50 UTC)
- Place
- Watsonville, CA
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N1999RCessna 210K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report April 23, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911221057049A
- Case key
- 27520
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 fuel calculation and failure to service the airplane's fuel tanks with adequate quantities of fuel to compete the fights. The loss of engine power resulting from fuel exhaustion 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
After servicing the airplane's fuel tanks with a reduced fuel load the pilot took off for five flights. As the airplane began its fourth landing the engine failed after four hours of flight. The airplane collided with some transmission lines and landed off the airport. The pilot failed to adequately perform the fuel calculations and service the airplane before departing on the accident flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1999R
- Reported as
- Cessna 210K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21059270
- Airframe hours
- 3,370
- Engine
- Continental IO-570-L, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mercer Aviation, Inc
- Registered owner
- Baker, Joseph & Edna
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 20, 1991 · 25 hours before
- Departed
- RNO · Reno, NV
- Airport
- WVI · Watsonville Municipal, runway 19, 4,501 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 28
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,462 total · 63 in this make and model · 2,275 as pilot in command · 122 in the last 90 days · 38 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.