Cessna T210M accident near Cahokia, Illinois, August 25, 2011
On August 25, 2011 at about 10:31 pm local time, a Cessna T210M, registered N44HR, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Cahokia, Illinois (St Louis Downtown Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A failure of a spring in the main landing gear actuation system that prevented the landing gear from extending.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 25, 2011 · about 10:31 pm local time
- Place
- Cahokia, Illinois · St Louis Downtown Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210M · all T210Ms on the register
- Registration
- N44HR · registry record · serial 21062685
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot executed a wheel-up landing after normal and emergency extension procedures failed to properly lower the airplane's landing gear. The airplane sustained damage to the propeller, lower fuselage skins, and fuselage bulkheads. Postaccident retraction tests revealed that the landing gear extended and retracted abnormally. Examination of the landing gear system revealed a deformed spring on the uplock sequencing actuator. The spring was replaced and subsequent retraction tests were normal. Review of the hydraulic system for the airplane revealed that a failure of the uplock sequencing actuator could result in hydraulic pressure being directed to both sides of the main landing gear actuators, causing the landing gear to not fully extend. No other preexisting anomalies were found.
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
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during landing defining event
- Landing gear not configured during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Landing gear actuator › Malfunction
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 18,526 hours in all; 140 in this make and model; 273 in the last 90 days; 116 in the last 30 days; 14,793 as pilot in command; 1,565 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 22, 2010
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,628 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 23, 2010
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor TSIO-520-R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CPS Cahokia IL at 6:00 pm
- Destination: CPS Cahokia IL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 12L, 5,300 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 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.