Cessna T210 accident near Defiance, Ohio, December 15, 1982
On December 15, 1982 at about 11:40 pm local time, a Cessna T210, registered N297EB, was destroyed in an accident near Defiance, Ohio (Defiance Memorial airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 15, 1982 · about 11:40 pm local time
- Place
- Defiance, Ohio · Defiance Memorial · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210 · all T210s on the register
- Registration
- N297EB · no longer on the register · serial T21062305
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AIRCRAFT CRASHED DURING NON-PRECISION APPROACH IN WEATHER THAT WAS BELOW MINIMUMS FOR THAT TYPE OF APPROACH.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,000 hours in all; 1,200 in this make and model; 78 in the last 90 days; 29 in the last 30 days; 114 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,325 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 29 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Custom Air Transport,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: C Columbus OH
- Destination: C Defiance OH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 12, 4,196 ft by 72 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 060° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 108°F (42°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.