Cessna 210M accident near Troy, Alabama, April 3, 1997
On April 3, 1997 at about 10:15 pm local time, a Cessna 210M, registered N761VX, was substantially damaged in an accident near Troy, Alabama. 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 pilot's failure to obtain the proper touchdown point during an emergency landing resulting in an overrun and subsequent nose over. A factor in the accident was a reported partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
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 10:15 pm local time
- Place
- Troy, Alabama · map
- 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
- N761VX · no longer on the register · serial 21062563
- 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 pilot stated he experienced a partial loss of engine power at 4,500 feet. He made a forced landing to an ultralight airfield. The airplane touched down long, went off the end of the runway, and nosed over. The engine was removed and transported to the engine manufacturer. The engine was placed in an engine test cell, started and developed power.
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 single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,560 hours in all; 800 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 950 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,322 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 27, 1996; 228 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DHN Dothan AL
- Destination: TOI AL
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0, 2,100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N761VX 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.