Saturday, October 13, 2018

Cessna P210N Pressurized Centurion, registered to and operated by Tridelaw Aviation LLC, N210HG: Accident occurred June 30, 2017 near Eagle County Regional Airport (KEGE), Gypsum, Colorado



The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entities:

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Denver, Colorado
Continental Motors Inc; Mobile, Alabama

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf


Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

Location: Eagle, CO
Accident Number: CEN17LA247
Date & Time: 06/30/2017, 1215 MDT
Registration: N210HG
Aircraft: CESSNA P210N
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Loss of engine power (total)
Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal 

On June 30, 2017, about 1215 mountain daylight time, a Cessna P210N airplane, N210HG conducted a forced landing near Eagle, Colorado. The pilot was not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged during the landing. The airplane was registered to and operated by Tridelaw Aviation, LLC, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a cross-country flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time.

The pilot reported that he departed Montrose, Colorado (KMTJ) en route to the Eagle County Regional Airport (KEGE). He added that he departed KMTJ with 60 gallons of fuel and 8 quarts of oil in the P210. As he approached KEGE, he contacted the tower controller and was directed to enter the downwind. As he entered the traffic pattern and configured the airplane for the landing, the engine lost power. The pilot reported that he followed the 'engine failure during flight' checklist, and switched fuel tanks; however, the engine did not restart. The pilot informed the controller and selected an empty road for the forced landing. During the landing, the left wing impacted a pole, the airplane then exited the road, coming to rest in an upright position. During the impact with the pole, about a 5 ft section was torn from the wing; damage was also noted on the fuselage and to the four-bladed propeller.

Fire department personal arrived on scene and noted fuel leaking from the airplane, so they applied a water-based fire retardant to both wing fuel tanks. The responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector also stated that after the recovery of the airplane fuel was leaking from at least one of the wing fuel tanks. It was also reported that the airplane was filled with about 30 gallons of fuel on June 21.

The airplane was recovered and transported to a salvage facility, where an examination was conducted by the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge and a technical representative from the engine manufacturer.

A fuel can was connected to the left-wing fuel line and a visual engine examination was conducted. A slight fuel leak was noted on the fuel metering unit, otherwise no external visual abnormalities were noted with the engine. The top set of sparkplugs were removed; the sparkplugs had normal wear and light grey deposits. Each cylinder was borescoped; the engine crankshaft was rotated by hand, and spark was observed on each ignition lead.

The airplane was equipped with a fuel flow and an JPI engine data monitor (EDM) 700 system. No information could be retrieved from the fuel flow system; however, the EDM contained 28 files, dated from May 27, 2017 to June 30, 2017. A review of the monitor's information revealed that there were two flights on June 19th, one flight on June 20th, and a one-hour flight on June 30th, which corresponded to the accident flight. The June 30th flight was plotted; just before the end of the data, there was a slight rise in exhaust gas temperatures (EGT), followed by a decrease. The rise and decrease in temperatures were uniform across all six cylinders.

In order to conduct an engine run, and due to damage to the engine's propeller, two blades were shortened to provide blade symmetry and balance. Prior to the engine run, the fuel strainer was opened and liquid consistent in appearance with water, was drained from the fuel line.

The engine was started and run to 2,500 rpm; a magneto check was also performed, with no abnormalities noted. During the run, fuel continued to leak from the fuel metering unit. After the run, the unit was disassembled, the internal O-rings appeared flattened or degraded. It was not determined if the O-ring leakage was due to impact to the metering unit during the accident, degradation of the O-rings due to the fire retardant, drying out of the O-rings, or natural degradation of the O-rings over time.

The fuel metering inlet screen was removed and was absent any debris and contamination.

A reason for the loss of engine power was not determined.



Pilot Information

Certificate: Private
Age: 67
Airplane Rating(s): Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Left
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used: 3-point
Instrument Rating(s): None
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed: No
Medical Certification: Class 3 With Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 03/01/2016
Occupational Pilot: No
Last Flight Review or Equivalent:
Flight Time:  1950 hours (Total, all aircraft), 80 hours (Total, this make and model), 1940 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 30.4 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 20.3 hours (Last 30 days, all aircraft), 0.8 hours (Last 24 hours, all aircraft)

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Registration: N210HG
Model/Series: P210N N
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 1980
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal
Serial Number: P21000569
Landing Gear Type: Retractable - Tricycle
Seats:
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 08/15/2016, Annual
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 4001 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection:
Engines: 1 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time: 3422 Hours at time of accident
Engine Manufacturer: CONT MOTOR
ELT: C126 installed, activated, did not aid in locating accident
Engine Model/Series: TSIO-520 SER
Registered Owner: TRIDELAW AVIATION LLC
Rated Power: 310 hp
Operator: TRIDELAW AVIATION LLC
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None 



Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KEGE
Distance from Accident Site:
Observation Time: 1250 MDT
Direction from Accident Site:
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Visibility: 10 Miles
Lowest Ceiling:
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 5 knots /
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual: /
Wind Direction: 130°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual: /
Altimeter Setting: 30.22 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 23°C / -4°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Precipitation
Departure Point: Montrose, CO (KMTJ)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Destination: Eagle, CO (EGE)
Type of Clearance: VFR
Departure Time:
Type of Airspace:



Airport Information

Airport: Eagle County Regional (EGE)
Runway Surface Type: N/A
Airport Elevation: 6547 ft
Runway Surface Condition:
Runway Used: N/A
IFR Approach: None
Runway Length/Width:
VFR Approach/Landing: Forced Landing; Traffic Pattern

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 None
Latitude, Longitude:  39.646111, -106.893056 (est)


NTSB Identification: CEN17LA247
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, June 30, 2017 in Eagle, CO
Aircraft: CESSNA P210N, registration: N210HG
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On June 30, 2017, about 1245 mountain daylight time, a Cessna P210N airplane, N210HG conducted a forced landing near Eagle, Colorado. The pilot was not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged during the landing. The airplane was registered to and operated by Tridelaw Aviation, LLC, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a cross-country flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. 

The pilot reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, that he departed Montrose, Colorado (KMTJ) en route to the Eagle County Regional Airport (KEGE). He departed KMTJ with the left fuel tank full of fuel and the right fuel tank half-full of fuel. As he approached KEGE, the engine lost power, so he attempted to restart the engine. The engine restart was not successful, so he selected a road for the forced landing. During the landing, the left wing impacted a light pole, resulting substantial damage. 

The wreckage was retained for further examination.

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