- Date
- April 3, 1997, 16:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Troy, AL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N761VXCessna 210M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 2, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970403018329A
- Case key
- 38246
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 obtain the proper touchdown point during an emergency landing resulting in an overrun and subsequent nose over. A factor in the accident was a reported partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
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 stated he experienced a partial loss of engine power at 4,500 feet. He made a forced landing to an ultralight airfield. The airplane touched down long, went off the end of the runway, and nosed over. The engine was removed and transported to the engine manufacturer. The engine was placed in an engine test cell, started and developed power.
Factual narrative
On April 3, 1997, about 1615 central standard time, a Cessna 210M, N761VX, registered to Air Carriers Inc,, crashed during a forced landing following loss of engine power in the vicinity of Troy, Alabama, while on a Title 14 CFR Part 135 business flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The commercial-rated pilot was not injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The flight originated from Dothan, Alabama.
The pilot reported experiencing a partial loss of engine power while en route from Dothan, Alabama, to Bessemer, Alabama at 4,500 feet in visual meteorological conditions. The pilot performed an emergency landing under partial power at the Happy Valley Community Airpark, an ultralight airfield. The aircraft's landing roll exceeded the runway length, struck tree stumps and dirt piles, flipped on its back and came to rest at the end of the runway.
The engine was transported to Teledyne Continental Motors in Mobile, Alabama. The engine was placed in a test cell. The engine start up was immediate and the engine ran smoothly at all rpm's. The propeller was removed and disassembled. The examination revealed the No. 2 blade hub was not attached to the phenolic link on the piston assembly, and was broken into three pieces. The three pitch change brackets with phenolic links were forwarded to the NTSB Materials Laboratory Division for further analysis.
Examination of the No. 2 blade hub was conducted with an electron microscope after ultrasonic cleaning with soap and water revealed features typical of tensile overstress with no preexisting features. No stress raiser such as a gouge mark or pore was found on the surface in the area of the fractures. For additional information see NTSB Metallurgist's Factual Report No. 97-150.
The three pitch change brackets with phenolic links were released to Mr. Scott Grant, FAA, FSDO-09, on October 6, 1997.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N761VX
- Reported as
- Cessna 210M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21062563
- Airframe hours
- 1,322
- Engine
- Continental IO-520, 280 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Air Carriers Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 27, 1996 · 228 hours before
- Departed
- DHN · Dothan, AL
- Destination
- TOI · AL
- Flight plan
- Unknown
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
- 49
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,560 total · 800 in this make and model · 250 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 5 knots
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 N761VX · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.