N6556X

On October 15, 1999, at 1730 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 210, N6556X, veered off the runway and impacted a ditch at Barton Field (private) in Enterprise, Nevada. The airplane, operated by the Mile High Flying Club, Huntington Beach, California, sustained substantial damage. The commercial pilot/owner was not injured. The local area personal flight originated from Las Vegas, Nevada, at 1700. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and included calm wind conditions. No flight plan was filed.

The pilot reported that he landed on the 1,900-foot-long by 25-foot-wide runway 07. The airplane veered off the paved surface to the right and impacted a gully that ran parallel to the runway edge. The gully was approximately 10 to 15 feet deep. The pilot reported that the winds were calm at the time of the accident and there were no mechanical problems with the airplane.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector from the Las Vegas Flight Standards District Office responded to the accident site and examined the aircraft. He reported that the nose gear had failed aft and the tire remained inflated. The right landing gear tire was also inflated but had separated. The left landing gear remained attached to the fuselage. Further, the left wing spar was twisted and the wingtip was crushed. The windshield had separated. The lower fuselage was depressed about 1-inch aft of the engine compartment. About 3 inches were missing from one of the propeller blades. One engine mount had separated on top of the firewall.

According to the pilot's airman and medical certification files maintained by the FAA, the pilot's last application for a medical certificate was denied in June 1998 by the FAA Aeromedical Certification Division. He had not been issued a certificate since then.

The accident was reported to the Safety Board on October 22, 1999.