Cessna T210M accident near Sheperdsville, Kentucky, November 8, 1988
On November 8, 1988 at about 3:15 am local time, a Cessna T210M, registered N732WC, was destroyed in an accident near Sheperdsville, Kentucky (Standiford airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- November 8, 1988 · about 3:15 am local time
- Place
- Sheperdsville, Kentucky · Standiford · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210M · all T210Ms on the register
- Registration
- N732WC · no longer on the register · serial 21061824
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT HAD FLOWN A CESSNA 172 TO TAMPA TO PICK UP A CESSNA T210M FOR A FLIGHT TO LOUISVILLE, KY. THE 210 HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY FLOWN TO TAMPA FROM FT. MYERS BY THE OWNER. AFTER A PREFLIGHT IN WHICH THE PILOT SAID HE VISUALLY VERIFIED THAT THE FUEL TANKS WERE FULL, THE PILOT DEPARTED FOR LOUISVILLE. ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTH OF STANDIFORD FIELD, LOUISVILLE, KY, THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND THE PILOT MADE A NIGHT FORCED LANDING IN TREES. NO FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE WRECKAGE. AFTER RECOVERY OF THE WRECKAGE, AN ENGINE RUN WAS COMPLETED AFTER ADDING FUEL TO THE AIRPLANE'S FUEL SYSTEM, THE LAST VERIFIED REFUELING OF THE AIRPLANE WAS AT FT. MYERS ON NOVEMBER 2, 1988 WHEN 16 GALLONS WERE ADDED TO 'TOP' THE TANKS. A CALCULATION OF THE FUEL REQUIRED TO COMPLETE A FLIGHT FROM FT. MYERS TO TAMPA TO LOUISVILLE WAS MADE. THE RESULTS INDICATED THAT 86.3 GALLONS OF FUEL WOULD HAVE BEEN REQUIRED UNDER OPTIMUM CONDITIONS. THE USABLE CAPACITY OF THE AIRPLANE WAS 89 GALLONS.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,668 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 199 in the last 90 days; 55 in the last 30 days; 1,450 as pilot in command; 656 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 651 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 1, 1988; 76 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-R1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TPA Tampa FL at 11:12 pm
- Destination: SDF Louisville KY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 160° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:55 am from SDF, 12 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.