Cessna 210L accident near Orlando, Florida, September 21, 1992
On September 21, 1992 at about 7:47 pm local time, a Cessna 210L, registered N2013S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Orlando, Florida (Orlando Executive 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
UNDETECTED CHAFFING AND GROUNDING OF A WIRE TO THE NOSE LANDING GEAR SQUAT SWITCH WHICH RESULTED IN THE LANDING GEAR BEING SIGNALLED AT ALL TIMES FOR GEAR UP WHEN ELECTRICAL POWER WAS APPLIED TO THE SYSTEM. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE OVERHEATING OF THE GEAR DOWN SOLENOID WHICH CAUSED IT TO STICK IN THE GEAR UP POSITION AND PREVENTED THE GEAR FROM BEING MANUALLY EXTENDED.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 21, 1992 · about 7:47 pm local time
- Place
- Orlando, Florida · Orlando Executive
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210L · all 210Ls on the register
- Registration
- N2013S · no longer on the register · serial 21060981
- 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
PILOT STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO EXTEND THE LANDING GEAR THE GEAR HYDRAULIC MOTOR OPERATED BUT THE GEAR DID NOT EXTEND. AFTER SEVERAL SECONDS OF GEAR MOTOR OPERATION THE CIRCUIT BREAKER FOR THE GEAR MOTOR POPPED. FURTHER ATTEMPTS TO EXTEND THE GEAR BY NORMAL AND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. A GEAR UP LANDING WAS MADE. AFTER THE ACCIDENT THE AIRCRAFT WAS RAISED AND THE LANDING GEAR WAS EXTENDED BY USE OF THE MANUAL GEAR EXTENSION EMERGENCY HYDRAULIC PUMP. ACCORDING TO MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL A WIRE TO THE NOSE LANDING GEAR SQUAT SWITCH WAS CHAFFED AND GROUNDED WHICH CAUSED THE SYSTEM TO BE SIGNALLED FOR GEAR UP AT ALL TIMES. THEY FURTHER STATED THE PILOT COULD NOT EXTEND THE GEAR BY USE OF THE BACKUP HYDRAULIC PUMP BECAUSE THE GEAR DOWN SOLENOID HAD OVERHEATED DURING ATTEMPTS TO LOWER THE GEAR AND FROZE IN THE GEAR UP POSITION. AFTER THE SOLENOID COOLED AFTER LANDING THEY WERE ABLE TO MANUALLY LOWER THE GEAR.
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
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,100 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 220 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 1,800 as pilot in command; 1,100 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,691 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 17, 1992; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-L3B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Flight Express, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: PNS Pensacola FL at 3:08 pm
- Destination: CEW Crestview FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 7, 5,998 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:45 pm from ORL, 1 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.