Cessna 210 accident near Mount Vernon, Illinois, July 12, 2024
On July 12, 2024 at about 5:30 pm local time, a 1981 Cessna 210, registered N9776Y, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Mount Vernon, Illinois (Mount Vernon airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to lower the landing gear, resulting in a wheel up landing. Contributing to the accident was the intermittent warning horn which likely did not sound to warn the pilot about the misconfigured landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 12, 2024 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Mount Vernon, Illinois · Mount Vernon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210 N, built 1981 · all 210s on the register
- Registration
- N9776Y · registry record · serial 21064595
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that as the airplane approached the airport to land, he found that the runway he had planned to land on was closed, so he maneuvered to land on an open runway. He forgot to extend the landing gear and wheels up landed the airplane on its belly. The airplane skidded on its belly to a stop, which resulted in substantial damage to the primary structure of the underside of fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures that contributed to the accident, but also reported that neither he nor the passenger heard the landing gear warning horn during the approach. During the functional testing of the landing gear system, the landing gear warning horn was found to be intermittent.
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
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear position and warning › Malfunction
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,240 hours in all; 1,871 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 5,128 as pilot in command; 608 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 18, 2023
- Medical certificate: BasicMed (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,584 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 16, 2024; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-L13B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EHR Henderson KY at 4:50 pm
- Runway 15, 3,146 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.13 inHg
- Observation at 12:08 pm from KMVN
Weather report (METAR): KMVN 121708Z AUTO 20003KT 10SM FEW090 26/23 A3013
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on October 22, 2024. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photo | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Record of Conversation FAA | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.