Cessna 210L accident near New Haven, Connecticut, December 6, 1990
On December 6, 1990 at about 4:00 am local time, a Cessna 210L, registered N5280V, was destroyed in an accident near New Haven, Connecticut (Tweed New Haven airport). It was an executive or corporate flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE FAILURE OF THE VEHICLE DRIVER TO ADEQUATELY MONITOR THE RADIO/TRAFFIC PATTERN. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS, THE AIRCRAFT'S LOSS OF ELECTRICAL POWER AFTER ACTIVATING THE RUNWAY LIGHTS AND ENTERING THE PATTERN, AND THE LACK OF VISUAL PERCEPTION CONCERNING BOTH THE VEHICLE DRIVER AND THE PILOT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 6, 1990 · about 4:00 am local time
- Place
- New Haven, Connecticut · Tweed New Haven
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210L · all 210Ls on the register
- Registration
- N5280V · registry record · serial 21060895
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Executive or corporate flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG FLT, THE PLT NOTED A NEGATIVE READING ON THE AMMETER & CYCLED THE ALTERNATOR SW, BUT TO NO AVAIL. BEFORE LNDG, SHE ACTIVATED THE RWY LGTS & DISCUSSED THE WNDS WITH A DEPG PLT. A COMPLETE ELEC FAILURE OF THE ACFT OCCURRED AS IT WAS ON DOWNWIND TO LND AFTER THE TWR HAD CLOSED. CONSEQUENTLY, ALL EXTERNAL LGTG & COM RADIO IN THE ACFT WERE INOP. A VEHICLE DRIVER WAS MAKING A RQRD INSPN ON RWY 32. THE DRIVER SAID SHE MONITORED THE TWR FREQ USING A HAND HELD RADIO & HEARD A DISCUSION, BUT DIDN'T HEAR EXACTLY WHAT WAS SAID. SHE SAW THE RWY LIGHTS ILLUMINATE, BUT THOUGHT THEY WERE ACTVTD BY THE DEPG ACFT. SHE ANNOUNCED HER FLD PSN & INTENTIONS USING THE GND CTL FREQ. THE PLT LNDD THE ACFT ON RWY 20 & BGN THE ROLLOUT AS THE VEHICLE DRIVER WAS ON RWY 32, CROSSING RWY 20. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT & VEHICLE COLLIDED AT THE RWY INTXN. THE ACFT'S ALTERNATOR & VOLTAGE REGULATOR WERE REMOVED & TESTED, BUT BOTH WERE FND TO BE OPNL. THE OVERVOLTAGE UNIT WAS NOT RECOVERED & THE REASON FOR THE LOSS OF ELEC PWR WAS NOT VERIFIED.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,066 hours in all; 342 in this make and model; 143 in the last 90 days; 49 in the last 30 days; 1,790 as pilot in command; 1,035 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,368 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 2, 1990; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-L (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Shoreline Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: PIT Pittsburgh PA at 1:45 am
- Destination: HVN New Haven CT
- Flight plan: VFR then IFR
- Runway 20, 5,600 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N5280V 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.