Cessna 210L accident near Avon, Connecticut, April 8, 1983
On April 8, 1983 at about 4:50 am local time, a Cessna 210L, registered N59123, was substantially damaged in an accident near Avon, Connecticut. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- April 8, 1983 · about 4:50 am local time
- Place
- Avon, Connecticut
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210L · all 210Ls on the register
- Registration
- N59123 · no longer on the register · serial 21060106
- 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 COLLIDED WITH A TREE AND BROKE THE NOSE LANDING GEAR DURING AN EMERGENCY LANDING AFTER ELECTRICAL FAILURE. AFTER THE FAILURE, USING MATCHES AND A FLASHLIGHT, THE PLT TRIED TO LAND BUT COULD NOT FIND THE ARPT. THE WEATHER WAS DETERIORATING SO WHEN A FIELD THAT SEEMED SUITABLE FOR LANDING APPEARED THE CREW DECIDED TO LAND. THE ACFT HAD ONLY BEENOPERATED ABOUT 22 HOURS SINCE THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM HAD BEEN REPAIRED AFTER A CHARGING PROBLEM WAS REPORTED. AFTER THE ACCIDENT THE ALTERNATOR AND REGULATOR WERE TESTED AND FOUND DEFECTIVE. VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE ALTERNATOR SHOWED THAT BOTH BRUSH SLIP RINGS WERE GOUGED AND GROOVED. ONE OF THE TWO WIRES ATTACHED TO THE SLIP RING TERMINAL WAS NOT SOLDERED AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. THIS WIRE WAS LOSELY BENT AROUND THE TERMINAL.
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: 4,000 hours in all; 120 in this make and model; 145 in the last 90 days; 3,400 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,491 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 22, 1983; 94 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PHL Philadelphia PA at 2:42 am
- Destination: TEB Teterboro NJ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 170° at 16 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.