Cessna T210M accident near Albuqerque, New Mexico, January 5, 1987
On January 5, 1987 at about 8:02 pm local time, a Cessna T210M, registered N6577B, was destroyed in an accident near Albuqerque, 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 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
- January 5, 1987 · about 8:02 pm local time
- Place
- Albuqerque, New Mexico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210M · all T210Ms on the register
- Registration
- N6577B · no longer on the register · serial 21062789
- 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 PLT ELECTED TO TAKEOFF FROM ABQ INTERNATIONAL ARPT DURING THE PASSAGE OF A SEVERE WX SYSTEM. ALTHOUGH HIS DEPARTURE WAS SUCCESSFUL HIS FLT PATH WAS HEADING TOWARD THE MOUNTAINS EAST OF ABQ. HE WAS OBSERVED TURNING NORTH UP A CANYON. SHORTLY AFTER TURNING, THE ACFT IMPACTED A 20 DEGREE SLOPE IN RISING TERRAIN.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,571 hours in all; 1,571 in this make and model; 88 in the last 90 days; 1,441 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,176 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 21, 1986; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-R (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ABQ Albuquerque NM at 7:56 pm
- Destination: TCC Tucumcari NM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 38 knots, gusting 50
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 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.