Cessna P210 accident near Collegeville, Pennsylvania, October 16, 1988
On October 16, 1988 at about 11:05 pm local time, a Cessna P210, registered N400JL, was destroyed in an accident near Collegeville, Pennsylvania (Perkiomen airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- October 16, 1988 · about 11:05 pm local time
- Place
- Collegeville, Pennsylvania · Perkiomen · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna P210 · all P210s on the register
- Registration
- N400JL · no longer on the register · serial P21000412
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT RPRTD THAT AS HE WAS ARRIVING TO LAND, HE ENTERED LEFT TRAFFIC & MOVED THE FUEL SELECTOR TO THE FULLEST TANK. SHORTLY AFTER MOVING THE FUEL SELECTOR, THE ENG LOST POWER AS THOUGH IT WAS FUEL STARVED. HE SAID HE OPERATED THE FUEL BOOST PUMP & SWITCHED FUEL TANKS WHILE ATTEMPTING TO RESTART THE ENG, BUT TO NO AVAIL. HE SAID HE SOUGHT TO AVOID NEARBY HOUSES & TRIED TO LAND IN A CLEARING. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE LEFT WING STRUCK THE CORNER OF A HOUSE, THEN THE ACFT CRASHED & BURNED. NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL PROBLEM WAS FOUND; HOWEVER, THE ACFT WAS EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED BY FIRE.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 854 hours in all; 96 in this make and model; 62 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 615 as pilot in command; 240 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,733 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 14, 1988; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-P (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Jem Start,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: ELZ Wellsville NY at 9:45 pm
- Destination: N10
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 2,883 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.