Cessna 210B N9609X

Summary

On 6 October 1999 at about 02:52 local time, a Cessna 210B registered N9609X, operated by George W. Mojonnier, was involved in an accident near Tonopah, Nevada, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 October 1999 at 02:52

Classification

Accident

Location

Tonopah, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Tonopah (TPH)

Coordinates

38.7898, -117.1096

Aircraft

Cessna 210B

Registration

N9609X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

George W. Mojonnier

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Klamath Falls → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX00LA005

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to monitor his altitude and maintain an adequate terrain clearance during the approach. The dark night lighting conditions and the visual illusion created by the lack of ground reference lights were factors in the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airport operator reported that it was a very dark night and the airplane requested advisories on the Unicom frequency. The runway lights illuminated and the operator awaited the airplane's arrival. When the airplane did not appear and the runway lights shutoff automatically, the operator began looking for the airplane. He saw a rotating red light in the area where the base leg should have been flown, drove to the site, and discovered the airplane. The airport operator said that the area surrounding the airport is very sparsely populated and the only lighted visual queues during night approaches are the runway lights. The pilot said he lost sight of the threshold lights and unknowingly lost excessive altitude while on downwind. During the base turn, the left main wheel touched the ground and rolled a short distance before the gear collapsed and the airplane slid to a stop.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.