Cessna T210 accident near Hilltop Lakes, Texas, September 24, 2009
On September 24, 2009 at about 1:25 am local time, a Cessna T210, registered N9734Y, was destroyed in an accident during approach (VFR go-around) near Hilltop Lakes, Texas (Hilltop Lakes 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 loss of control of the airplane in dark night light conditions due to the pilot’s spatial disorientation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 24, 2009 · about 1:25 am local time
- Place
- Hilltop Lakes, Texas · Hilltop Lakes Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210 N · all T210s on the register
- Registration
- N9734Y · no longer on the register · serial 21064583
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was arriving at a private rural airport in dark night conditions. Witnesses estimated that the visibility was 3 to 5 miles in drizzle or light rain with overcast clouds, with the ceiling as low as 500 to 1,000 feet above ground level. The pilot initially attempted to activate the runway lighting via the pilot-activated system; however, the system was inoperable due to a recent lightning strike. An airport resident contacted the pilot on the Unicom radio and informed him that the lights were inoperable. Another resident attempted to illuminate the runway using headlights from an automobile. The pilot said that he was going to attempt to land on runway 34 using a combination of automobile illumination and the airplane’s landing lights. The pilot was west of the airport when he flew eastbound over the airport and entered a right turn for a landing on runway 34. Several witnesses said that the pilot was not aligned with runway 34 and appeared to be too high to land. The witnesses said the airplane was approximately 50 to 150 feet above ground level when the pilot stated on the radio that he was initiating a go-around. The airplane then almost immediately started a descent, struck trees on the right side of the runway, and impacted an unoccupied home. An examination of the airframe and engine revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The dark night conditions that surrounded the airport and the airplane’s acceleration due to a go-around would place the pilot susceptible to spatial disorientation. According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s “Instrument Flying Handbook”, FAA-H-8083-15A, in a Somatogravic illusion “A rapid acceleration...can create the illusion of being in a nose up attitude. The disoriented pilot will push the aircraft into a nose low, or dive attitude.”
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
What happened, in order
- Preflight or dispatch event during prior to flight
- Miscellaneous/other
- Loss of control in flight during approach (VFR go-around) defining event
- Dragged wing/rotor/float/other during approach (VFR go-around)
- Fire/smoke (post-impact) during post (impact)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Not attained/maintained
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Lack of action › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Physical › Sensory ability/limitation › Vestibular function › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Operating environment › Airport facilities/design › Airport lighting › Awareness of condition
- Environmental issues › Operating environment › Airport facilities/design › Runway lighting › Awareness of condition
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,276 hours in all; 475 in this make and model
- Last flight review: July 28, 2008
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,312 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2009; 31 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO 520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: DTN Shreveport LA
- Destination: 0TE4 Hilltop Lakes TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 3,000 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 010° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; not recorded at 500 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.