Cessna 210 accident near Newport News, Virginia, February 5, 1984
On February 5, 1984 at about 1:33 am local time, a Cessna 210, registered N8437Z, was destroyed in an accident near Newport News, Virginia (Patrick Henry airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 5, 1984 · about 1:33 am local time
- Place
- Newport News, Virginia · Patrick Henry · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210 · all 210s on the register
- Registration
- N8437Z · no longer on the register · serial 2050437
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE FLIGHT HAD BEEN AIRBORNE FOR APRX 38 MINS WHEN THE PILOT BEGAN EXPERIENCING COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS. NINE MINUTES LATER THE PILOT REPORTED 'INSTRUMENT PROBLEMS' AND BEGAN TO RECEIVE RADAR VECTORS TO A LANDING. 15 MINUTES LATER SHE DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND SAID HER MAG COMPASS AND DIRECTIONAL GYRO HAD MALFUNCTIONED AND BEGAN RECEIVING NO GYRO RADAR VECTORS AT 1000 FEET MSL. AFTER RECEIVING THREE NO GYRO TURNS SHE WAS INSTRUCTED TO 'STOP TURN.' TWENTY FIVE SECONDS LATER SHE SAID 'I'M, I'M STARTING TO SPIN.' NO FURTHER TRANSMISSIONS WERE RECEIVED. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED APRX 3 MILES WEST OF THE INTENDED LANDING AIRPORT. AN EXAMINATION OF THE ATTITUDE INDICATOR, THE DIRECTIONAL GYRO, BOTH VACUUM PUMPS AND RELATED COMPONENTS INDICATED THAT THEY WERE FUNCTIONING UPON IMPACT. THE ACCURACY OF THE INSTRUMENT INDICATIONS COULD NOT BE DETERMINED HOWEVER, DUE TO IMPACT DAMAGE. AIRCRAFT LOGS REVEALED NO PREVIOUS INSTRUMENT SYSTEM WRITE-UPS.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,519 hours in all; 2,079 as pilot in command; 1,474 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,558 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 21, 1983; 51 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: IAD Washington DC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 7, 8,003 ft by 15 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 350° at 7 knots
- Sky: not recorded at 200 ft
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:38 am from PHF, 3 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.