Cessna 210M accident near Calumet, Oklahoma, May 24, 1986
On May 24, 1986 at about 5:28 am local time, a Cessna 210M, registered N750RS, was destroyed in an accident near Calumet, Oklahoma (Oklahoma City Int'L airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were 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
- May 24, 1986 · about 5:28 am local time
- Place
- Calumet, Oklahoma · Oklahoma City Int'L · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210M · all 210Ms on the register
- Registration
- N750RS · no longer on the register · serial 21061923
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT ON A NIGHT XC FLT IN MARGINAL VFR TO IMC CONDITIONS IMPACTED IN AN 80 DEG NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE IN A LEFT SPIRAL. IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PVT PLT HAD INDICATED THAT HE WAS IMC AND WAS GOING TO ATTEMPT TO CLIMB OUT OF IT. RADAR DATA INDICATED THAT THE ACFT STARTED A CLIMBING LEFT TURN AND THEN ENTERED A LEFT SPIRALING DESCENT. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE ATTITUDE INDICATOR GYRO HAD FAILED AND WAS NOT ROTATING AT OPERATIONAL RPM AT THE TIME OF IMPACT. EXAMINATION OF THE VACUUM PUMP AND THE HSI GYRO INDICATED THAT THEY WERE OPERATING NORMALLY. THERE WAS NO INTERNAL FAILURE IN THE ATTITUDE INDICATOR AND THE REASON FOR THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED DUE TO THE LEVEL OF DAMAGE SUSTAINED IN THE FIRE WALL AND INSTRUMENT PANEL AREAS. THE PVT PLT HAD LAST PRACTICED INSTRUMENT FLT 3 YEARS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,416 hours in all; 2,301 in this make and model; 47 in the last 90 days; 23 in the last 30 days; 2,368 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,526 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 12, 1985; 129 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-L3A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DEN Denver CO at 2:18 am
- Destination: WPA Oklahoma City OK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 040° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,000 ft; not recorded at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:51 am from OKC, 31 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 N750RS 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.