Incident Overview
On May 17, 2019, at 14:37 UTC (16:37 local time), a Cessna T210N with registration N6973N executed an emergency water landing in the Adige River. The incident occurred near the head of Runway 08 at Verona Boscomantico Airport (LIPN). The aircraft had departed from LIPN at 13:51 UTC for a visual flight rules (VFR) recreational flight without a filed flight plan.
Personnel and Injuries
Two pilots were on board. The pilot in the left seat, a 40-year-old Italian male holding a Private Pilot Licence (PPL), was largely unharmed. The pilot in the right seat, a 47-year-old Italian male holding a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) with various instructor ratings, sustained serious injuries. Both occupants successfully evacuated the aircraft and reached the riverbank.
Aircraft Condition and Damage
The Cessna T210N, serial number 21063182, was powered by a Continental TSIO-520-R engine. At the time of the incident, the airframe had approximately 2,590 total flight hours. The aircraft sustained extensive damage, including the separation of the tail boom (which fully detached during recovery operations), damage to the extremity of the left wing, deformation of the propeller blades and nose cone, and compression buckling in multiple areas of the fuselage. An unspecified amount of fuel was spilled into the river.
Operational Context
The right-seat pilot had recently resumed flying this specific type, accumulating about 10 hours in the month prior to the incident. The left-seat pilot had only 2 hours and 29 minutes on type, logged during two flights in the preceding two weeks. The aircraft's fuel selector valve lacked a 'both' position, allowing selection of only the left or right tank individually.