Cessna T210M accident near Clovis, New Mexico, August 6, 1999
On August 6, 1999 at about 10:10 pm local time, a Cessna T210M, registered N6687B, was destroyed in an accident near Clovis, New Mexico (Clovis Municipal Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed during final approach to landing, resulting in an inadvertent stall. A factor was the high density altitude.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 6, 1999 · about 10:10 pm local time
- Place
- Clovis, New Mexico · Clovis Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210M · all T210Ms on the register
- Registration
- N6687B · no longer on the register · serial 21062819
- 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 non-scheduled domestic cargo flight was en route from Dallas, Texas, to Clovis, New Mexico, with no cargo aboard, and was scheduled to pick up checks in Clovis. The pilot was overheard announcing his position over the airport's UNICOM frequency when the airplane was 15, 10 and 5 miles out for landing at Clovis, but was never observed to have landed. A witness 1 mile east of the airport, overheard the airplane's engine accelerate, and observed the airplane to be 'lower and slower' than most aircraft at that altitude inbound for landing. The airplane was level for several seconds, then 'turned into a nose dive and crashed.' A search for the airplane was initiated, and it was located .57 nm from the approach end of runway 22 approximately 1 hour later. The weather at the time of the accident was clear skies with winds from 200 degrees at 15 knots. The density altitude was calculated to be 6,648 feet above msl.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,342 hours in all; 85 in this make and model; 85 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 1,715 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,425 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 16, 1999; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-R-9B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DAL Dallas Love TX at 8:30 pm
- Destination: CVN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 6,200 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:15 pm from CVN, 1 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.