Cessna T210N accident near Grand Canyon, Arizona, April 3, 1997
On April 3, 1997 at about 3:16 am local time, a Cessna T210N, registered N6172C, was destroyed in an accident near Grand Canyon, Arizona. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control due to spatial disorientation and his lack of proficiency in conducting instrument flight. Contributing were the inoperative alternator, cockpit lighting, and vacuum system.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 3, 1997 · about 3:16 am local time
- Place
- Grand Canyon, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210N · all T210Ns on the register
- Registration
- N6172C · no longer on the register · serial 210-63820
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During an IFR flight at night, the pilot reported to the Air Route Traffic Control Center controller that he lost the alternator and had switched to his standby generator. He then requested a lower altitude because he was in the clouds and had lost his cockpit lighting. He then reported the loss of his compass and was looking for a clear area. As the controller was attempting to provide no-gyro vectors to the nearest airport the pilot reported various problems with his flight instruments, including the altimeter, and stated that he did not know whether he could fly straight and level. He reported that his altimeter was working again but that he was still in instrument meteorological conditions and had now lost his vacuum pump. He then told the controller that he did not know where he was and that his bank indicator, DG, and HSI were providing conflicting information. The pilot subsequently could not maintain headings provided by the controller or consistent altitude profiles over the next several minutes. His last transmission said he was in a descent and was trying to pull up. Radar data showed a series of 360-degree left turns followed by turns to the right. The last turn to the left was computed at a +5.487 g load factor with an 80-degree angle of bank. The first turn to the right was +4.213 g's with a bank angle of 76 degrees. The vertical stabilizer, the horizontal stabilizers, and the outboard section of the right wing separated in flight. The pilot attended recurrent Cessna 210 flight and simulator training the day before the accident and failed to meet course standards for IFR proficiency. He routinely lost control of the aircraft while in training and declined further IFR training. The standby electric generator powers the turn coordinator but not gyro slaving, cabin lights, HSI information, heated pitot tube, or autopilot.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,373 hours in all; 934 in this make and model; 82 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 1,232 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,643 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 16, 1996; 34 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: LVS Las Vegas NM
- Destination: VGT NV
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; scat at 3,600 ft
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:54 am from GCN, 21 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.
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.