Cessna 210N accident near Quantico, Virginia, March 20, 1988
On March 20, 1988 at about 3:17 pm local time, a Cessna 210N, registered N6401N, was destroyed in an accident near Quantico, Virginia. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- March 20, 1988 · about 3:17 pm local time
- Place
- Quantico, Virginia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210N · all 210Ns on the register
- Registration
- N6401N · no longer on the register · serial 21062977
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS ABT 25 MI SOUTH & INBOUND TO DCA WHEN THE PLT RPRTD AN ENCTR WITH SNOWSHWRS WHICH WERE PART OF A COLD FRONT. HE ASKED & WAS CLRD TO DSCND TO 2500 FT SO HE COULD MAINT VMC. RADAR DATA SHOWED, THE ACFT DSCNDD PAST 2500 FT TO 1300 FT. ABT 16 MI SOUTH OF DCA, THE PLT SAID HE WAS REVERSING COURSE TO GET OUT OF THE SNOWSHWRS. HE ASKED & WAS CLRD TO CLIMB ON TOP OF THE WX, BUT (DUE TO TRAFFIC) WAS RESTRICTED TO 5500 FT. THE PLT ASKED TO GO TO THE NEAREST VMC ARPT; HOWEVER, RADIO CONTACT WAS LOST AFTER THE ACFT HAD CLIMBED TO 4600 FT. SUBSEQUENTLY, AN IN-FLT BREAKUP OCCURRED & WITNESSES SAW THE ACFT DSCND FROM THE CLOUDS IN PIECES. THEY SAID THERE WERE STRONG WINDS, SNOW & A LOW OVERCAST WHEN THE ACDNT OCCURRED. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED THE WINGS & STABILIZERS HAD SEPD IN FLT FROM OVERLOAD FAILURE. THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PLT WAS 1ST CHECKED OUT IN TYPE ACFT ABT 3 MOS EARLIER; SUBSEQUENT FLTS IN TYPE ACFT WERE MADE WITH AN INSTRUCTOR ABOARD. THIS WAS THE PLT'S 1ST FLT IN TYPE ACFT WITHOUT AN INSTRUCTOR ABOARD.
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: single-engine land
- Flight time: 256 hours in all; 33 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 119 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,694 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 12, 1987; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-L3 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Atlantic Aero
The flight
- Departed from: GSO Greensboro NC at 2:45 pm
- Destination: DCA Washington DC
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 20 knots, gusting 29
- Sky: broken clouds; not recorded
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:20 pm from MCAF, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.