Cessna 210 N7418E accident near Placerville, California

Probable cause

The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

NTSB analysis

Prior to entering the airport’s airspace, the pilot attempted to obtain traffic advisories via the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF); however, he received no response. Upon arrival, he overflew the airport to check the wind direction, and made a right-hand entry to the traffic pattern. The pilot stated that he was on a 1/2-mile final, but was still high, so he put the airplane in a forward slip to lose altitude. About 200 feet above the ground he recovered to level flight, but was still too high. He decided to go around and pushed the throttle full in, but the engine did not respond. After checking the settings, he reduced the throttle and then pushed it in again, with no response. The pilot stated that due to obstacles at the end of the runway, he decided to make a forced landing on the remaining last half of the runway. He pushed the nose toward the runway. When the airplane was about 10 to 15 feet above the ground he pitched up and the airplane landed flat on all three landing gear. The nose landing gear collapsed after he applied the brakes, which allowed the propeller blades to strike the ground. The front engine cowling, nose landing gear, and the left wing spar sustained structural damage. A witness to the accident reported that the airplane landed with an 8- to 10-knot tailwind. A visual examination of the engine revealed no catastrophic preimpact anomalies. A post accident engine ground run was performed with no discrepancies noted.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR09LA009 for the full record.