Cessna T210L accident near Sauk Village, Illinois, March 18, 1985
On March 18, 1985 at about 4:15 am local time, a Cessna T210L, registered N94032, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sauk Village, Illinois (Lansing airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 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
- March 18, 1985 · about 4:15 am local time
- Place
- Sauk Village, Illinois · Lansing · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210L · all T210Ls on the register
- Registration
- N94032 · no longer on the register · serial 21060485
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING A NIGHT PREFLIGHT THE FUEL QUANTITY WAS VISUALLY CHECKED AND THE PLT ESTIMATED EACH TANK CONTAINED 35 GALS. THE LEFT FUEL GUAGE INDICATED 220 POUNDS AND THE RIGHT GUAGE WAS INOP. AFTER APRX 1 HOUR 50 MINUTES OF FLT TIME A TOTAL LOSS OF POWER OCCURRED. A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE ON A HIGHWAY DURING WHICH THE ACFT CONTACTED A GAURD RAIL AND A DITCH. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE LEFT FUEL TANK WAS EMPTY AND THE RIGHT FUEL TANK CONTAINED VERY LITTLE FUEL. THE PORTION OF THE FLT WHEN THE ENGINE QUIT WAS BEING MADE ON THE LEFT FUEL TANK.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,377 hours in all; 1,637 in this make and model; 2,301 in the last 90 days; 14,070 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 18,474 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 13, 1985; 642 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Promptusair, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: IND Indianapolis IN at 3:33 am
- Destination: MDW Chicago IL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 010° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.