Cessna T210M accident near Olathe, Kansas, January 27, 1994
On January 27, 1994 at about 7:25 am local time, a Cessna T210M, registered N1215M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Olathe, Kansas (Industrial Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to follow procedures and directives regarding the positioning of the fuel tank selector to the fullest tank for the landing portion of flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 27, 1994 · about 7:25 am local time
- Place
- Olathe, Kansas · Industrial Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210M · all T210Ms on the register
- Registration
- N1215M · registry record · serial 21061924
- 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
THE AIRPLANE CRASHED SHORT OF THE RUNWAY DURING AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH. THE PILOT REPORTED A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER ABOUT 1/4 OF A MILE FROM THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD. HIS INITIAL ATTEMPT AT REGAINING POWER WAS SUCCESSFUL, AND THE ENGINE RAN FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN QUIT. THE PILOT SAID THE AIRPLANE WAS TOO LOW TO ATTEMPT A RESTART AND THE AIRPLANE LANDED HARD. POSTACCIDENT INSPECTION DISCOVERED NO MECHANICAL ANOMAlIES WITH THE ENGINE OR AIRFRAME. THE AIRPLANE'S PILOT OPERATING HANDBOOK REQUIRES THAT THE FULLEST TANK BE SELECTED FOR TAKEOFF AND LANDING, AND NOTES THAT SLIPS AND SKIDS SHOULD BE AVOIDED WITH LESS THAN 1/4 OF A TANK OF FUEL DUE TO THE POTENTIAL FOR UNPORTING OF THE FUEL PICKUP AND THE SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE'S RIGHT FUEL TANK WAS APPROXIMATELY 1/2 FULL; THE LEFT FUEL TANK CONTAINED ABOUT 3 GALLONS OF GAS. THE FUEL TANK SELECTOR IN THE COCKPIT WAS FOUND SELECTED TO THE LEFT 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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,375 hours in all; 202 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 12,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DSM Des Moines IA at 5:10 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 35, 7,339 ft by 175 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 0.8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 100 ft; not recorded at 100 ft
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:38 am from IXD
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.
Other NTSB records under N1215M the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI94LA073.