Cessna T-210N accident near Tallahassee, Florida, November 10, 1987
On November 10, 1987 at about 1:46 am local time, a Cessna T-210N, registered N4612C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tallahassee, Florida (Tallahassee Municipal airport). 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
- November 10, 1987 · about 1:46 am local time
- Place
- Tallahassee, Florida · Tallahassee Municipal
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T-210N · all T-210Ns on the register
- Registration
- N4612C · no longer on the register · serial 21063574
- 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
DURING LDG GEAR EXTENSION PLT DID NOT GET SAFE DOWN INDICATION. ATTEMPTS TO USE EMERGENCY EXTENSION PUMP WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. ACFT WAS LANDED NOSE GEAR EXTENDED MAIN GEAR RETRACTED. POST ACCIDENT INSPECTION OF THE ACFT REVEALED THE LEFT MAIN GEAR DOWN LOCK ACTUATOR TO HAVE A RAPID LEAK DUE TO A TORN O RING. THE EMERGENCY HAND PUMP HANDLE WAS FOUND WITH THE PISTON CONNECTING PIN INSTALLED BUT THE PIN WAS NOT INSTALLED IN THE PISTON. THE ACFT WAS DAMAGED 43 HOURS BEFORE THIS ACCIDENT WHEN IT WAS LANDED IN A SWAMP AFTER AN ENGINE FAILURE.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,971 hours in all; 1,665 in this make and model; 417 in the last 90 days; 2,826 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,173 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 20, 1987; 43 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PFN Panama City FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18, 6,070 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 090° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 10,000 ft; scat at 4,300 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:47 am from TLH
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.
Other NTSB records under N4612C the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.