Undetermined · NTSB WPR12FA349
CESSNA P210N — Santa Monica, CA
| Date | August 11, 2012 |
| Location | Santa Monica, CA |
| Aircraft | CESSNA P210N |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Approach-VFR pattern final Unknown or undetermined |
| Pilot age | 70 |
| Pilot total time | 3,200 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tree(s)-Not specified
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
- Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C
What happened
About 15 minutes after departure, the pilot contacted air traffic control and requested a return to the departure airport without indicating the reason. About 10 minutes later, the pilot was instructed to enter a right base leg for the runway and was subsequently cleared to land behind traffic. One minute later, the pilot declared an emergency, but he did not identify the nature of the emergency. No further transmissions were made by the pilot. The airplane then collided with treetops on a southeasterly heading about 3 miles northeast of the airport and continued about 200 feet before striking the top of a palm tree and falling to the ground. A postcrash fire consumed the majority of the airplane.
Postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The engine spark plugs were covered in heavy, dark soot indicative of an extremely rich mixture condition, which could have resulted in a loss of engine power. The engine was examined and subsequently placed on a test stand. After repairs were made to facilitate an engine run, the engine started, ran, and responded to throttle movements with no discrepancies noted. The reason for the return to the departure airport and subsequent reported emergency could not be determined.
The investigation found that the pilot may have had therapeutic levels of doxylamine, a sedating antihistamine, in his blood about the time of the accident. However, based on the circumstances of the accident, it is unlikely that pilot impairment from doxylamine contributed to the accident. Further, the carbon monoxide present in the pilot's blood is consistent with postaccident exposure to combustion products.