Cessna 210N accident near Shady Grove Cor, Virginia, May 10, 1990
On May 10, 1990 at about 6:50 am local time, a Cessna 210N, registered N6481N, was destroyed in an accident near Shady Grove Cor, Virginia. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 6 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
VFR FLIGHT BY THE NON-INSTUMENT RATED PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), HIS LOSS OF AIRCRAFT CONTROL, DUE TO SPATIAL DISORIENTATION, AND HIS EXCEEDING THE DESIGN STRESS LIMITS OF THE AIRCRAFT, WHILE RECOVERING FROM AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARK NIGHT, ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, LOSS OF THE VACUUM SYSTEM, AND THE PILOT'S LACK OF INSTRUMENT EXPERIENCE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 10, 1990 · about 6:50 am local time
- Place
- Shady Grove Cor, Virginia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 6 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210N · all 210Ns on the register
- Registration
- N6481N · no longer on the register · serial 63055
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PLT WAS ON VFR FLT AT NGT FM MANTEO, NC TO WINCHESTER, VA. HE STARTED THE FLT EARLIER THAN ORIGIN- ALLY PLANNED AFTER LEARNING WX WAS FORECAST TO DETERIORATE. WHEN ACFT DID NOT ARR, SEARCH WAS INITIATED. IT WAS FND ON 5/17/91 IN REMOTE AREA NR SHADY GROVE CORNER, VA. INV REVEALED RGT WING SEPD IN FLT; WING WAS FND ABT 700' EAST OF WHEREACFT IMPACTED GND. MAIN WRECKAGE WAS FND WEST OF IMPACT POINT. METALLURGICAL EXAM SHOWED WING SEPD FM OVERLOAD. RCRDD RADIO INFO REVEALED PLT HAD ENCTRD RAIN. RADAR DATA REVEALED THAT BFR ACDNT, ACFT WAS HDG NE AT 2100' MSL. IT CLIMBED TO2400', TURNED NORTH, DSCNDD TO 2000' & TURNED WEST, THEN DSCNDD TO 1500' BFR RADAR CTC WAS LOST. RADAR CTC ENDED LESS THAN 1 MI FM CRASH SITE. ABT 29 MI ENE AT QUANTICO, 0255 EDT WX WAS IN PART: 1300' BKN, VIS 3 MI IN RAIN & FOG, WND FM 230 DEG AT 12 KTS. EXAM INDCD NO ROTATIONAL DMG OF DRCTNL GYRO OR TURN COORDINATOR GYRO, ONLY SLGT RUBBING OF ATTITUDE GYRO & NO SCORING OF VACUUM PUMP VANES, THOUGH ALL RCVD HVY IMPACT DMG & DIRT WAS PACKED IN VACUUM PUMP PORTS/CAVITY.
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: 468 hours in all; 24 in this make and model; 1 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 433 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,383 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 3, 1989; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-L (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Professional Pilot Services
The flight
- Departed from: MQI Manteo NC at 6:00 pm
- Destination: W16 Winchester VA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 230° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:55 am from NYG, 29 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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.