Cessna T210 accident near Muscle Shoals, Alabama, July 29, 2005
On July 29, 2005 at about 9:50 pm local time, a Cessna T210, registered N9501Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Muscle Shoals, Alabama (Muscle Shoals/Northwest Alabam airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate visual lookout, and failure to maintain clearance, which resulted in an in flight collision with a transmission wire.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 29, 2005 · about 9:50 pm local time
- Place
- Muscle Shoals, Alabama · Muscle Shoals/Northwest Alabam · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210 · all T210s on the register
- Registration
- N9501Y · no longer on the register · serial 21064524
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was attempting to enter the traffic pattern when the accident occurred. A witness heard the pilot report four miles east of the airport requesting local weather information. The pilot also talked to the witness, who was in the traffic pattern, and advised the witness that he would be entering right traffic for runway 29. The pilot was on a base for runway 29 when the airplane collided with a 161 KV transmission line approximately 95 feet above the ground. The airplane fell to the ground and burst into flames. Tennessee Valley Authority reported an interruption at 1650 on the transmission lines in the area of the accident. Examination of the wreckage revealed the airplane collided with the ground two miles southeast of Muscle Shoals Airport, in a planted field. The wreckage was located 200 yards west of the transmission lines. Wreckage debris was scattered over an area about 70 feet long and 40 feet wide, and orientated on a westerly heading. The post-accident examination of the airplane failed to disclose a mechanical problem or component failure.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Last flight review: October 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 SER (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Western Air Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: KDLL Baraboo Wiscons WI
- Destination: KMSL Muscle Shoals AL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 6,693 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.07 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from KMSL
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.