Cessna 210L incident near Roswell, New Mexico, December 24, 1988
On December 24, 1988 at about 3:13 am local time, a Cessna 210L, registered N59217, suffered minor damage in an incident near Roswell, New Mexico (Roswell Industrial airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were 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 incident. 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 24, 1988 · about 3:13 am local time
- Place
- Roswell, New Mexico · Roswell Industrial · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210L · all 210Ls on the register
- Registration
- N59217 · no longer on the register · serial 21060167
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PLT PREFLIGHTED ACFT AND NOTED INDICATION OF 9 QTS OF OIL IN CRANKCASE. FLT DEPARTED ROSWELL (ROW) IN NIGHT VMC EN ROUTE TO ABQ. PLT HAD JUST LEVELED OFF AT 6500 FT MSL WHEN HE NOTICED OIL PRESSURE GAUGE FLUCTUATING. OIL PRESSURE THEN BEGAN DROPPING AND PLT REVERSED COURSE BACK TO ROW. OIL PRESSURE THEN DROPPED TO ZERO. PLT SAID ENG STARTED MAKING NOISE AND COCKPIT FILLED WITH SMOKE. WITH SOME PWR STILL AVAILABLE, PLT MADE LANDING ON HIGHWAY WITH THE LANDING GEAR UP. POST-INCIDENT EXAM OF ENG DISCLOSED EVIDENCE OF DETONATION. NR 2 PISTON AND RINGS WERE BURNED, ALLOWING COMBUSTION GASES TO ESCAPE INTO CRANKCASE. HIGH EXHAUST GAS PRESSURE WITHIN CRANKCASE VENTED OIL OBERBOARD, CAUSING OIL STARVATION. THE ENG HAD 2053 HRS OF OPERATION AND 998 HRS SINCE A MAJOR OVERHAUL. ON THE MORNING OF THE INCIDENT THE ENG HAD RECEIVED A 100 HR INSPECTION.
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; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,826 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 14 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 1,602 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,561 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 23, 1988; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-L (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: B & M Enterprises, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ROW Roswell NM at 2:50 am
- Destination: ABQ Albuquerque NM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 350° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 5°F (-15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:25 am from ROW, 6 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N59217 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.