LAX06CA248
2006-07-21 · Truckee, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport TRK
Current FAA registration · N6686N
- Make / Model
- CESSNA T210N
- Year of manufacture
- 1978 · 28 years old at event
- Engine
- CONT MOTOR TSIO-520 SER (300 hp)
- Seats / Engines
- 6 seats · 1 engine
- Last airworthiness date
- 19790208
- ADS-B equipped
- Yes — Mode-S A8D528
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
the pilot's inadequate compensation for the existing wind conditions and failure to maintain an adequate airspeed.
Factual narrative
On July 21, 2006, at 1945 Pacific daylight time a Cessna T210N, N6686N, was substantially damaged when it landed hard on runway 19 at the Truckee-Tahoe Airport, Truckee, California. The private pilot and five passengers were not injured. The pilot operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the cross-country flight, which originated from Concord, California, at 1830. During a telephone interview with the pilot, he stated that their flight was approaching for landing with weather conditions described as light rain, no wind, and thunderstorms in the distance. The pilot's flight was number two for landing and the previous airplane reported encountering no problems during landing. While on short final, his flight encountered wind shear, which resulted in a decreased airspeed and an excessive descent rate. The pilot applied power, but the airplane struck the runway and porpoised 3 to 4 times before the nose landing gear collapsed and separated, damaging the structural members in the nose area. At 1949, the weather observation facility at the Truckee-Tahoe Airport reported the following information: winds from 240 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; clear sky; temperature 20 degrees Celsius; dew point 01 degrees Celsius; and an altimeter setting of 30.23 inches of mercury. The pilot reported no anomalies with the airplane or engine. The airplane landed hard and the nose landing gear collapsed and separated. According to the pilot, he was landing the airplane in weather conditions he described as light rain, no wind, with thunderstorms in the distance. While on short final the airplane encountered wind shear resulting in a loss of airspeed and an increased rate of descent. The pilot applied power, but the airplane impacted the runway and porpoised 3 to 4 times before the landing gear collapsed. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2006_LAX06CA248.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Search this event elsewhere
External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.
- TallyAero Live Wire Aviation press
- NTSB CAROL Agency ↗
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (wind shear, thunderstorm). All research papers
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR) An Examination of Aviation Accidents Associated with Turbulence, Wind Shear and Thunderstorm
The focal point of the study reported here was the definition and examination of turbulence, wind shear and thunderstorm in relation to aviation accidents.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Reprint (Version printed in journal) Evolution of downdrafts and rotation in an Illinois thunderstorm
Multiple-Doppler radar observations of a non-severe Illinois thunderstorm with nearly rectilinear vertical wind shear and storm motion related to the wind at a height of 2.5 km are discussed.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (IJAAA) The Impact of Thunderstorms on Take-off Data in South Africa
Aviation and meteorology are entwined disciplines, as aviation occurs in the atmosphere. Prevailing weather conditions at take-off are of utmost importance to aviation.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper Optimal recovery from microburst wind shear
The flight path of a twin-jet transport aircraft is optimized in a microburst encounter during approach to landing. The objective is to execute an escape maneuver that maintains safe ground clearance …
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM) Thunderstorm hazards flight research: Storm hazards 1980 overview
A highly instrumented NASA F-106B aircraft, modified for the storm hazards mission and protected against direct lightning strikes, was used in conjunction with various ground based radar and lightning…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Proceedings Operational evaluation of thunderstorm penetration test flights during project Storm Hazards '80
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is conducting a research project called Storm Hazards '80 in order to study the prediction, detectability and avoidance of the hazards of severe storm…