Cessna T210L accident near Elida, New Mexico, December 9, 1999
On December 9, 1999 at about 6:31 am local time, a Cessna T210L, registered N2179S, was destroyed in an accident near Elida, New Mexico. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control for reasons undetermined. Factors were icing conditions and instrument failure, as reported by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 9, 1999 · about 6:31 am local time
- Place
- Elida, New Mexico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210L · all T210Ls on the register
- Registration
- N2179S · no longer on the register · serial 210-61140
- 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
The flight was being operated as an on-demand nonscheduled domestic cargo flight. After obtaining a standard weather briefing and filing an IFR flight plan, the pilot took off at 2228. At 2320, after being cleared to descend from 13,000 to 11,000 feet, the pilot was cleared to descend further to 9,000 feet because he was 'starting to pickup some ice, here.' At 2329, the controller noticed the airplane had reversed course and he asked the pilot what he was doing. The pilot replied, 'I'm not sure. My instruments are going bad.' Radio and radar contract were lost shortly thereafter. The airplane struck the ground in a near vertical attitude. No avionics, instruments or vacuum pumps were recovered intact. There was no evidence of preimpact airframe, powerplant, propeller, or flight control failure/malfunction.
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: 1,914 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,978 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 8, 1999
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-H (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ABQ Albuquerque NM at 5:30 am
- Destination: LBB Lubbock TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 020° at 25 knots, gusting 35
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:31 am from CVS, 34 miles away
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.