Cessna 210 accident near Kalamazoo, Michigan, October 24, 2014
On October 24, 2014 at about 10:50 pm local time, a 1969 Cessna 210, registered N8219M, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Kalamazoo, Michigan (Kalamazoo/Battle Creek Intl 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
The pilot's failure to ensure that the landing gear was fully extended in the down and locked position prior to touchdown, which resulted in the left main landing gear collapse, runway excursion, and impact with a runway exit sign.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 24, 2014 · about 10:50 pm local time
- Place
- Kalamazoo, Michigan · Kalamazoo/Battle Creek Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210 K, built 1969 · all 210s on the register
- Registration
- N8219M · registry record · serial 21059219
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of a retractable landing gear airplane reported that during dusk conditions, five nautical miles from the destination airport, he extended the landing gear. He further reported, that at touchdown the airplane started to shake. He allowed the airplane to slow down then applied brakes; the left main landing gear folded back into the fuselage, the airplane skidded down the runway, veered off the runway to the left, and impacted a runway exit sign. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the empennage. In a statement provided to the National Transportation Safety Board by the airplane mechanic that assisted in the recovery of the accident airplane, he reported that the accident airplane was lifted off of the surface of the runway, the left main landing gear was put into the down position and the up-lock hook which secures the landing gear in the down and locked position, "went into position with no problem." He further reported that he placed the airplane on jacks, cycled the landing gear through several cycles and the landing gear locked into position during each cycle. In the section of the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Accident/Incident Report form titled Mechanical Malfunction/Failure, the pilot reported that during the postaccident repair of the airplane, the selector-main gear actuator (part No. 12810044) gear tooth was revealed to have been broken. According to the manufacture, the landing gear could have been extended with the broken gear actuator tooth, however once the landing gear had been extend, locked, and weight apply, the only way for the landing gear to unseat from the landing gear pocket is through a positive action by the pilot.
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
- Landing gear not configured during landing defining event
- Landing gear collapse during landing
- Runway excursion during landing
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Not used/operated
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Forgotten action/omission › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Sign/marker › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 815.7 hours in all; 328.2 in this make and model; 4.9 in the last 90 days; 4.9 in the last 30 days; 705.5 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 23, 2014
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cont Motor IO-520-L1 (piston); 2,003 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OEB Coldwater MI at 10:40 pm
- Destination: AZO Kalamazoo MI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 6,502 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 3,800 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from KAZO, 1 miles away
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.