Cessna 210M accident near Stuart, Florida, January 16, 1985
On January 16, 1985 at about 2:30 am local time, a Cessna 210M, registered N6164N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Stuart, Florida. 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 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, 1985 · about 2:30 am local time
- Place
- Stuart, Florida
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210M · all 210Ms on the register
- Registration
- N6164N · no longer on the register · serial 21061288
- 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
THE ACFT ENG FAILED IN FLT & THE PLT MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING AT NIGHT IN AN OPEN FIELD. THE FIELD WAS ON SANDY TERRAIN THAT HAD BEEN CONTOURED TO BE AN ORANGE GROVE. WHILE LANDING ON THE UNEVEN SOFT TERRAIN, THE ACFT WAS DAMAGED. AN EXAM OF THE ENG REVEALED THE #2 PISTON PIN & CONNECTING ROD HAD FAILED. FATIGUE CRACKS WERE NOTED IN THE FRACTURE AREA OF BOTH PARTS. THERE WERE INDICATIONS THAT THE PISTON PIN HAD FAILED 1ST, THEN THE ROD FAILED & PENETRATED THE ENG CASE.
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: 1,464 hours in all; 306 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 1,403 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,292 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection; 6,998 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MIA Miami FL
- Destination: ORL Orlando FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from VRB, 34 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.