- Date
- September 21, 1992, 21:18 local (Sep 22, 1992, 01:18 UTC)
- Place
- St. Augustine, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N121PLCessna 210L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920922037919A
- Case key
- 33143
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-in-command's failure to conduct a preflight inspection of the fuel tanks prior to takeoff.
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 commercial pilot was in cruise flight at 4,500 feet AGL when the engine began to sputter. The pilot switched to the other fuel tank and checked both fuel gauges which were indicating near empty. The pilot turned direct to the nearest airport when the engine sputtered and quit. The pilot conducted a forced landing to the trees. The airplane was destroyed and the pilot sustained minor injuries.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N121PL
- Reported as
- Cessna 210L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21060179
- Airframe hours
- 3,523
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-L4B, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Cherokee Leasing Inc.
- Registered owner
- Cherokee Leasing Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · September 10, 1992 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- ORL · Orlando, FL
- Destination
- CRG · Jacksonville, FL
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
- 23
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,089 total · 435 in this make and model · 1,905 as pilot in command · 190 in the last 90 days · 87 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- 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.
Other investigations on N121PL · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.