Cessna 210B accident near Port Angeles, Washington, August 14, 1999
On August 14, 1999 at about 6:30 am local time, a Cessna 210B, registered N9588X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Port Angeles, Washington (William R Fairchild Intl airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of maintenance personnel to detect cracked main landing gear saddles during required inspection, and subsequent fatigue fracture of the left main landing gear saddle resulting in separation of the saddle and disabling of the left main gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 14, 1999 · about 6:30 am local time
- Place
- Port Angeles, Washington · William R Fairchild Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210B · all 210Bs on the register
- Registration
- N9588X · registry record · serial 21057888
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After takeoff, the left main landing gear would not lock in the 'up' position. The pilot was subsequently unable to get the left main gear into either the up-and-locked or down-and-locked positions, despite repeated efforts to do so. After burning down fuel, the pilot performed a successful landing in grass next to the runway at his destination with the left main gear unlocked, sustaining only slight additional damage in the landing. Post-accident examinations disclosed a fatigue fracture with at least three separate origins in the left main landing gear saddle (a structural component that mounts the gear strut to the airframe), and fatigue cracks in the right main gear saddle. Both main gear saddles were dye-penetrant inspected for cracks in accordance with AD 76-14-07R2 approximately 3 weeks/30 flight hours before the accident with no defects found.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,800 hours in all; 2,150 in this make and model; 205 in the last 90 days; 65 in the last 30 days; 8,600 as pilot in command; 3,815 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,060 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 21, 1999; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-S (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAE Everett WA at 5:00 am
- Destination: CLM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 260° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 9,500 ft; scat at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 am from CLM
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.