History of Flight
On September 4, 2011, at 1125 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna P210N, registration N7WJ, collided with trees near Tehachapi, California. The pilot/owner operated the airplane under 14 CFR Part 91 as a local personal flight. It departed Cable Airport, Upland, California, at 1023. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed; no flight plan was filed.
The pilot called a friend with a home near Tehachapi and stated he would fly over the home later that morning on a pleasure flight.
A witness at Mountain Valley Airport in Tehachapi noticed the airplane approaching from the southeast on a northwesterly heading. It was low over wind turbines and, after clearing a ridge, began a 360-degree turn with a 45- to 60-degree bank. Two landing gear were down. The airplane descended a couple hundred feet during the turn, went below tree line, and continued to a southwesterly heading. It flew up a valley and disappeared behind a ridgeline. About 20 seconds later, the witness saw white, then gray, then black smoke.
The pilot's friend observed the airplane slowly circling his home. He recognized it and noted landing gear and partial flaps were down. He saw a hand wave from the pilot's window. The airplane then turned west and the gear began retracting. Seconds later, he heard a "whump" and saw smoke.
Personnel Information
The 72-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane. He held a third-class medical certificate issued July 6, 2010, requiring corrective lenses for near and distant vision. No personal flight records were located; an insurance application dated November 10, 2010, reported a total time of 2,218 hours, with 1,422 hours in the make and model.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was a Cessna P210, serial number P21000374. Logbooks were not recovered. An insurance application indicated a tachometer time of 509.0 hours and a Hobbs meter time of 592.2 hours. The oil filter from April 23, 2011, showed tachometer time 2,411.1 hours and Hobbs 1,936.4 hours. The engine was a Continental TSIO-520-P(5), serial number 278637-R.
Meteorological Information
An automated observation at Tehachapi Municipal Airport (elevation 4,001 ft msl) at 1115 PDT reported wind from 140 degrees at 15 knots gusting to 20 knots, visibility 10 miles or more, clear sky, temperature 23°C, dew point 9°C, altimeter 30.10 inHg.
Wreckage and Impact
The NTSB, FAA, Cessna, and CMI examined the wreckage at the accident site (coordinates 35°04.08'N, 118°26.007'W). The debris path was along a magnetic heading of 215 degrees. The airplane came to rest upright on a northerly heading; the engine was inverted and rotated clockwise about 90 degrees from the fuselage.
The first point of contact was broken limbs near the top of a 20-foot tree. The left wing tip fairing with a red navigation lens was at the tree base. Further along, a second tree had broken upper branches; the outboard rib and skin from the left wing lay nearby. The debris path extended about 200 feet from the first contact to the main wreckage; some pieces were about 120 feet from the centerline. A principal impact crater began about 20 feet before the final resting place. Fire consumed most of the airframe skin and structure. Remnants of all flight controls were identified.
Medical and Pathological Information
A postmortem examination by the Kern County Coroner determined the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries. The FAA Forensic Toxicology Research Team tested specimens; no ethanol was found in urine. Tests for carbon monoxide or cyanide were not performed. Drugs detected: Tamsulosin in liver; Terazosin in urine and liver.
Tests and Research
Investigators from NTSB, FAA, Cessna, and CMI examined the wreckage at Aircraft Recovery Service in Littlerock, California, on September 7, 2011. A detailed report is in the public docket. The examination revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
The elevator trim actuator was extended 1.7 inches, equating to 5 degrees tab up. The trim cable was continuous. The flap actuator measured 4.7 inches; the retracted position is 4.4 inches.