Cessna T210N accident near Lost Hills, California, January 16, 1988
On January 16, 1988 at about 2:25 am local time, a Cessna T210N, registered N7573N, was destroyed in an accident near Lost Hills, California (Lost Hill/Kern CO airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- January 16, 1988 · about 2:25 am local time
- Place
- Lost Hills, California · Lost Hill/Kern CO · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210N · all T210Ns on the register
- Registration
- N7573N · no longer on the register · serial 21063236
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON A DARK NIGHT WITH LIGHT DRIZZLE FALLING THE PVT PLT, WHO WAS NOT INSTRUMENT RATED, DEPARTED FROM AN UNCONTROLLED ARPT FOR A X-C FLT. THE PLT MADE A DOWNWIND DEPARTURE, & HIS ALTITUDE ON THE X-WIND LEG WAS ESTIMATED BY A PASSING TRUCK DRIVER AT 200 FT AGL. THE ACFT THEN TURNED DOWNWIND & DESCENDED UNTIL IT COLLIDED WITH A LEVEL PLOWED FIELD DEVOID OF LIGHTS. PATCHY GROUND FOG WAS OBSERVED NORTH OF THE CRASH SITE IN THE DIRECTION THE PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING TO FLY. A FEW MIN PRIOR TO TAKING OFF THE PLT HAD RECEIVED AN ABBREVIATED WEATHER BRIEFING. THE FSS SPECIALIST INFORMED THE PLT MARGINAL WX CONDITIONS EXISTED & HE DID NOT RECOMMEND VFR FLIGHT.
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: 349 hours in all; 144 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 13 in the last 30 days; 294 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,496 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 25, 1987; 104 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSI0-520-R (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Seibold CORP.
The flight
- Departed from: L84 Lost Hills CA at 2:23 am
- Destination: SCK Stockton CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0, 3,020 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 2:38 am from BFL, 33 miles away
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.
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.