Cessna T210N accident near Dana Point, California, November 19, 2005
On November 19, 2005 at about 10:03 pm local time, a Cessna T210N, registered N546BC, was destroyed in an accident near Dana Point, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inability to maintain aircraft control, which resulted in a loss of airspeed and a stall/spin. The inability of the pilot to maintain control of the airplane was likely due to an incapacitating cardiac event.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 19, 2005 · about 10:03 pm local time
- Place
- Dana Point, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210N · all T210Ns on the register
- Registration
- N546BC · registry record · serial 21063663
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane impacted the ocean following a departure from controlled cruise flight. The airplane had decelerated from 120 knots to approximately 60 knots while maintaining an altitude of 3,500 feet mean sea level (msl), then descended as rapidly as 7,000 feet per minute, finally spiraling toward the ocean in a corkscrew manner before it impacted the water. No pre-accident anomalies were noted with any systems examined, and no distress calls or communications preceded or followed the upset. The autopsy report on the 51-year-old airline transport pilot was consistent with a condition known as left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), a substantially thickened main heart chamber. It also noted moderate to severe coronary artery disease with evidence of at least one prior small heart attack. The combination of coronary artery disease and LVH would have substantially increased the risk for sudden cardiac death in this pilot. There was no evidence that the pilot was aware of his heart disease. The behavior of the aircraft cannot be explained by any reasonable scenario in which the 11,500-hour pilot was deliberately controlling the aircraft. Therefore, it seems likely that the pilot was unable to control the aircraft, an inability that can reasonably be explained by an incapacitating cardiac event.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,534 hours in all; 79 in the last 90 days; 31 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: March 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,839.4 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 2005; 38.4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-R9 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SDM San Diego CA at 9:35 pm
- Destination: SNA Santa Ana CA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from SNA, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.