- Date
- March 6, 1994, 03:06 local (11:06 UTC)
- Place
- Jackpot, NV
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 3 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4810UCessna 210-5A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report November 14, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940306003629A
- Case key
- 28688
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 failure to maintain control of the aircraft's flight path while maneuvering after takeoff in an area of no ground reference lights. Factors in the accident were the pilot's lack of instrument flight experience and the dark nighttime lighting conditions.
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 accident occurred during the hours of darkness and no moon was visible. The Jackpot airport is in an area of rolling hills and the only ground reference lights are in the immediate area of the runway and the adjacent casino. The pilot did not have an instrument rating. In his written statement, the pilot said that he did not experience a mechanical failure or malfunction. He reported that he lifted off runway 15 and began a 400-foot per minute climb at a normal airspeed, then began a left turn. The pilot stated that the attitude indicator was showing slightly less than a 20-degree bank turn as the heading indicator was going through 100 degrees when 'we dropped out of the sky.' An FAA inspector interviewed the pilot shortly after the accident. The pilot reported that as he initiated a crosswind turn after take off from runway 15, he lost visual reference with the horizon. No mechanical discrepancies were noted during an examination of the aircraft.
Factual narrative
On March 6, 1994, at 0306 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 210-5A, N4810U, impacted rising terrain during the takeoff initial climb from the Jackpot, Nevada, airport. The aircraft was on a personal cross-country flight during the hours of darkness. Visual meteorological conditions were prevalent at the time and no flight plan had been filed for the operation. The aircraft was destroyed during the impact sequence. The certificated private pilot and two passengers were seriously injured, and the third passengers sustained fatal injuries. The flight was originating at the time of the accident as a flight to Gooding, Idaho.
The accident occurred during the hours of darkness and no moon was visible. The Jackpot airport is in an area of rolling hills and the only ground reference lights are in the immediate area of the runway and the adjacent casino. The pilot did not have an instrument rating.
In his written statement, the pilot said that he did not experience a mechanical failure or malfunction. He reported that he lifted off runway 15 and began a 400-foot per minute climb at a normal airspeed, then began a left turn. The pilot stated that the attitude indicator was showing slightly less than a 20-degree bank turn as the heading indicator was going through 100 degrees when "we dropped out of the sky."
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector interviewed the pilot shortly after the accident. The pilot reported that as he initiated a crosswind turn after takeoff from runway 15, he lost visual reference with the horizon.
No mechanical discrepancies were noted during an examination of the aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4810U
- Reported as
- Cessna 210-5A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 205-0510
- Engine
- Continental IO-470-S2B, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Dennis J. Goodman
- Registered owner
- Leon E. Goodman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 1993
- Destination
- GNG · Gooding, ID
- Airport
- O6U · Jackpot Airport, runway 15, 6,200 × 60 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
- 39
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 320 total · 219 in this make and model · 264 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
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 N4810U · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.