Cessna 210 N9664X

Summary

On 8 July 2017 at about 22:00 local time, a Cessna 210 registered N9664X was involved in an accident near Bettles, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2017 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Bettles, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

67.4994, -151.5758

Aircraft

Cessna 210

Registration

N9664X

Category

Airplane

Year built

1962

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fairbanks → Bettles

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA17CA474

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain an appropriate glidepath during the approach to the runway over glassy water and in glaring sun conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he overflew a remote airstrip, which was bounded by a lake on the approach end. He added that he circled back to land and that, during final approach, he encountered "glassy water and bright sun." Subsequently, the airplane landed short of the runway in the lake, sunk in more than 500 ft of water, and was not recovered. The Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector who interviewed the pilot reported that he stated that the sun and the reflection off the lake gave him the impression that the airplane was higher than it was. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.