Accident Overview
A Cessna 210 aircraft crashed approximately one mile from Portage County Airport, left of the normal missed approach ground track. The pilot had departed from Port Columbus and flew for about 40 minutes before executing a VOR approach to the minimum descent altitude (MDA) at Portage County, which lacks a weather reporting facility. Upon reaching the MDA, the pilot initiated a missed approach. During the missed approach, after acknowledging two air traffic control radio calls, the aircraft dropped off radar at approximately 600 feet above ground level. A witness reported hearing the engine running just prior to impact.
Pilot Information
The pilot had earned their instrument flight rules (IFR) rating three months before the accident and claimed 33.6 hours of actual IFR flying time since the IFR checkout. The pilot had logged 4.3 hours in the Cessna 210. The accident aircraft, a radar-equipped, turbocharged Cessna 210 with 310 horsepower, was the most complex aircraft the pilot was qualified to fly.
Aircraft Examination
Examination of the wreckage revealed extensive damage to virtually all aircraft components. Investigators found nothing that would cause difficulty except an elevator jack-screw setting equivalent to a nose-down trim force.