CESSNA T210 — Mountain Home, AR

What happened

The airplane was in cruise flight at 6,700 feet mean sea level when the air traffic controller advised the pilot that a large area of heavy to extreme rain showers was ahead along his flight path for the next 180 miles. The pilot did not change course, and, about 6 minutes later, he requested a descent in order to remain operating under visual flight rules. About 4 minutes later, the controller lost radar contact with the airplane and tried to contact the pilot. There was no response. Witnesses on the ground reported that the airplane’s engine could be heard “revving up and down,” but the airplane could not be seen because of an overcast layer of clouds. Moments later the airplane appeared from the clouds and was observed descending in a nose down spiral. The witnesses added that, before the airplane descended out of sight, one of the wings “appeared to fold.” Postaccident examination indicated that the airplane experienced a positive overload failure of the left wing during the descent and subsequently broke apart. The examination revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions, anomalies, or failures before the wing separation that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.