Cessna T210N accident near Sperry, Oklahoma, June 3, 1986
On June 3, 1986 at about 12:52 pm local time, a Cessna T210N, registered N9444Y, was destroyed in an accident near Sperry, Oklahoma. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 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
- June 3, 1986 · about 12:52 pm local time
- Place
- Sperry, Oklahoma · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210N · all T210Ns on the register
- Registration
- N9444Y · no longer on the register · serial T210-64507
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED JONES (RIVERSIDE) AIRPORT AND CLIMBED, ON COURSE, TO ITS ASSIGNED ALTITUDE. IT WAS IN IMC CONDITIONS AND A IFR FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. THE PILOT TOLD ATC (AFTER BEING ASKED) THAT HIS RIDE WAS 'SMOOTH SO FAR'. SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE AIRCRAFT STARTED VEERING RIGHT OF ITS ASSIGNED HEADING. THE PILOT WAS ADVISED OF THIS AND ACKNOWLEDGED. A CORRECTION WAS INITIATED BUT NOT COMPLETED. THE AIRCRAFT AGAIN VEERED RIGHT, ENTERED A STEEP DESCENT, AND DISAPPEARED FROM RADAR. THE PILOT DID NOT RESPOND TO FURTHER RADIO CALLS FROM ATC. THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED IN A STEEP NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE WHILE AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED DURING A HEAVY RAINSTORM. POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE AIRCRAFT. PATHOLOGICAL AND TOXICOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS OF THE PILOT REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF A HUMAN FACTORS PROBLEM.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,320 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,755 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RVS Tulsa OK at 12:34 pm
- Destination: FOE Topeka KS
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:49 pm from TUL, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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 N9444Y 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.