Pilot Debrief

CESSNA P210N near Hillsboro, OR — 2021-12-09

Final reportWPR22LA060
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Date
2021-12-09
Location
Hillsboro, OR, USA
Airport
7S3
Aircraft
CESSNA P210N
Registration
N152BT
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

The on-ground collision with a tree during an off airport precautionary landing. Contributing was the partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

NTSB narrative

The pilot was flying the airplane to an airport 7 miles from the departure airport after it had just received an annual inspection when the accident occurred. He reported the airplane was struggling to climb and maintain altitude and, being unsure he would make it to the destination airport, he elected to return to the departure airport. After he verified that the engine controls were at their correct positions, he saw the exhaust gas temperature (EGT) spike on three cylinders. He adjusted the mixture to cool the cylinders but the EGTs remained elevated, so he landed the airplane in an orchard, which resulted in substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizers. A postaccident engine run and examination of the engine revealed that the right magneto was not operational due to corrosion build-up inside the magneto. A review of the maintenance records revealed that the right magneto was last serviced about 609 hours before the accident; the last 500-hour inspection was completed about 850.7 hours; and the last overhaul was completed 1,386 hours (about 19 years) before the accident, respectively. It is likely that the inoperable magneto reduced the power output and prevented the pilot from maintaining altitude.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted the flight after noticing the initial climb issues.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 8 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents8

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