Cessna 210E accident near Port Townsend, Washington, November 22, 1987
On November 22, 1987 at about 2:05 am local time, a Cessna 210E, registered N4956U, was destroyed in an accident near Port Townsend, Washington. 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 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
- November 22, 1987 · about 2:05 am local time
- Place
- Port Townsend, Washington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210E · all 210Es on the register
- Registration
- N4956U · no longer on the register · serial 21058656
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT FLEW INTO THE SIDE OF MAYNARD MOUNTAIN, THE POINT OF A COASTAL LAND MASS, WHILE ON A NIGHT VFR FLIGHT IN IMC WX CONDITIONS. RADAR DATA SHOWED THE AIRCRAFT ON A STRAIGHT COURSE AT CRUISE AIRSPEED.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,304 hours in all; 132 in this make and model; 94 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 2,128 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,970 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 5, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: S50 Auburn WA at 1:35 am
- Destination: CLM Port Angeles WA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:30 am from CLM, 23 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.
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.