Cessna 210E accident near Holbrook, Arizona, August 28, 2000
On August 28, 2000 at about 10:50 pm local time, a Cessna 210E, registered N210DL, was substantially damaged in an accident near Holbrook, Arizona (Holbrook Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The lack of elevator control during final approach, for undetermined reasons, that resulted in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 28, 2000 · about 10:50 pm local time
- Place
- Holbrook, Arizona · Holbrook Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210E 210F · all 210Es on the register
- Registration
- N210DL · registry record · serial 21058650
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a porpoise and hard landing, the nose wheel collapsed and the firewall was pushed in. The pilot began to preflare about 500 feet from the landing threshold. He applied backpressure to the elevator, but nothing happened. He applied more back elevator with no effect. He began adding power about 20 feet above the runway to arrest the airplane's descent, but was still nose low. He added power to bring the nose up, but the airplane began to climb. By this time, the pilot approximated that he was 1,500 to 2,000 feet down the runway. He felt that he did not have elevator control and thought it would be too risky to attempt a go-around and approach with that condition. He elected to land, even though it would probably result in damage to the airplane. He reduced power and the airplane touched down on the nose wheel and began to porpoise. On the third bounce, the nose wheel collapsed and the airplane came to a stop on the runway. The pilot removed the rear cabin panel, and noticed that the elevator cables were loose and sagging. He checked the cables to the tail cone and noted that they appeared to be intact and connected. The post accident examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical anomalies that would account for the loss of elevator effectiveness. During the repair process, maintenance personnel discovered one pulley that would not move, and another pulley on the firewall exhibited scratch marks. However, they did not observe any cable or pulley wear. One of the pulleys in the elevator control system was attached to the engine firewall.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,748 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 22 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 2,748 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 13, 1999
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,142 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 16, 2000; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DHT Dalhart TX at 7:00 pm
- Destination: P14 Holbrook AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 6,740 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:56 pm from INW, 28 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX00LA339.