Cessna 210L accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 29, 1997
On September 29, 1997 at about 7:50 pm local time, a Cessna 210L, registered N59217, was substantially damaged in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico (Albuquerque International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The fracture of the right main hydraulic landing gear actuator housing assembly due to overload.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 29, 1997 · about 7:50 pm local time
- Place
- Albuquerque, New Mexico · Albuquerque International
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was 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 60167
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After takeoff, about 300 to 400 feet above ground level, the pilot raised the gear lever and the green landing gear down annunciator light remained illuminated. He then cycled the gear lever to the down position and returned to land to check the gear. Upon touchdown, the right main landing gear retracted. The aircraft skidded down the runway and turned 180 degrees to the left, remaining on the runway. The right main hydraulic landing gear actuator (P/N 1281000-1, S/N 1039) was sent to the NTSB's Materials Laboratory for examination. A second hydraulic actuator (P/N 1281000-1, S/N 1790) that received damage due to overstressing caused by an off airport landing was sent to the laboratory for comparison. Both hydraulic actuator housing assemblies exhibited similar longitudinal fractures in their respective housings. Both of the housings were bulged outward near the midpoint of the longitudinal fracture. Examination of the fractures with the aid of a scanning electron microscope revealed that the fracture characteristics were typical of an overstress separation. Neither examples exhibited evidence of progressive cracking.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,726 hours in all; 660 in this make and model; 218 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 1,451 as pilot in command; 517 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,491 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 17, 1997; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ABQ at 7:40 pm
- Destination: Q34 Portales NM
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 30, 5,142 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:56 pm from ABQ
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.
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.