Cessna P210N accident near Dunkirk, New York, June 22, 2004
On June 22, 2004 at about 2:50 pm local time, a Cessna P210N, registered N99HW, was destroyed in an accident near Dunkirk, New York (Jamestown airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's loss of aircraft control and the subsequent overstress and separation of the wing during an encounter with convection induced turbulence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 22, 2004 · about 2:50 pm local time
- Place
- Dunkirk, New York · Jamestown · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna P210N · all P210Ns on the register
- Registration
- N99HW · registry record · serial P21000487
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was conducting a cross country instrument flight rules flight. The airplane was deviating around thunderstorm activity, and was cleared to it's destination airport, when radar contact was lost. A witness reported hearing an airplane overhead; however, he could not see the airplane due to haze and clouds. He described the engine noise as "revving in a cycling pattern." Within 10 seconds, he observed an airplane exit the clouds in a nose down spiral, with one wing missing. The airplane impacted Lake Erie nose first and sank. Examination of the right wing main spar revealed fractures consistent with an overstress separation and aft and upward loading. The pilot obtained a weather briefing prior to the flight. At the time of the briefing, there were no current or forecasted thunderstorms around the pilot's destination airport. There were also no convective SIGMETs valid for the area where the accident occurred. Review of weather radar around the time of the accident revealed two very strong thunderstorm cells over the western portion of New York, along Lake Erie, moving northeast. The airplane disappeared from radar, as it transitioned through the northern edge of one of the echoes in reflectivity values near 25 dBZ or very light intensity echoes. The geo-synchronous weather satellite-12 (GOES-12) visible image depicted a large band of clouds extending over Lake Erie, and New York. Several Cumulonimbus clouds were located immediately south of the accident site.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 505 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,252 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 28, 2003
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FNT Flint MI at 1:42 pm
- Destination: JHW Jameston NY
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.75 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from DKK, 7 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number NYC04FA144.