Cessna 210K accident near Bessemer, Alabama, September 18, 2001
On September 18, 2001 at about 1:23 am local time, a Cessna 210K, registered N9455M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bessemer, Alabama (Bessemer airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure of the landing gear-down lock mechanism, which resulted in the pilot's inability to control the airplane. A factor was the trees.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 18, 2001 · about 1:23 am local time
- Place
- Bessemer, Alabama · Bessemer · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210K · all 210Ks on the register
- Registration
- N9455M · no longer on the register · serial 21059355
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, during landing roll, the airplane drifted to the right. The pilot applied left rudder and brakes, which failed to correct the right drift. The airplane then suddenly banked to the right and departed the runway and impacted trees. Examination of the airplane found the right main landing gear was collapsed. The horizontal stabilizer, empennage, wings, ailerons, and lower fuselage sustained damage. Additional examination found a faulty down-lock switch in the right main landing gear.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,219 hours in all; 275 in this make and model; 204 in the last 90 days; 119 in the last 30 days; 1,155 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,697 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 15, 2001; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GVL Gainsville GA
- Destination: EKY Bessemer AL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 5,700 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 am from ANB, 75 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.