WPR25LA084

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna P210N · Prescott, AZ · January 18, 2025

Accident · No injuriesClass 3 · LimitedPreliminary report
Date
January 18, 2025, 12:10 local (19:10 UTC)
Place
Prescott, AZ · Adjacent to southbound Hwy 89
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Approach
Aircraft
N4626KCessna P210N
Defining event
Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of engine power (partial)
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Investigation ongoing
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Western Pacific Region
Parties
Federal Aviation Administration
FAA report
20250118000369I
Case key
199618

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Preliminary report

What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.

On January 18, 2025, about 1210 Mountain standard time, a Cessna P210N, N4626K, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Prescott, Arizona. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The student pilot reported that following a local instructional flight, the tower controller cleared them to enter the airport traffic pattern for runway 3R. As the airplane was about 200 ft above ground level (agl), the student noticed that his rate of descent was excessive and increased the throttle setting; however, the engine power setting remained unchanged. The student pilot informed the flight instructor about the lack of engine response and the flight instructor verified that the throttle setting was full forward, switched the fuel selector valve from RIGHT to LEFT, and set the mixture to full rich. The instructor then assumed control and elected to execute a forced landing. About 50 ft agl, the flight instructor reduced the throttle to idle, moved mixture to idle cut off, and turned the fuel selector valve to OFF. Subsequently, the airplane landed hard and subsequently bounced multiple times before it slid off the side of an embankment, just short of a roadway. The right-wing was substantially damaged. The airplane was recovered to a secure facility for further examination.

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Aircraft

Registration
N4626K
Reported as
Cessna P210N
Category
Airplane
Serial number
P21000244
Built
1979
Airframe hours
3,222.7
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Operator
Wyeth Family Trust
Registered owner
Wyeth Family Trust
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
100 hour · January 12, 2025 · 1.5 hours before
Destination
Same as departure
Flight plan
VFR
Airport
PRC · Prescott Rgnl/Ernest A Love Fld, runway 03R/21L, 7,619 × 150 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic multifunction display

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.

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
50 °F
Observed at
KPRC, 1 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.