N7493E

On December 25, 1999, at 1600 eastern standard time, a Cessna 210, N7493E, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when the nose gear collapsed while taxiing after a forced landing was performed to a field near South Lyon, Michigan. The personal flight was operated under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual Meteorological Conditions prevailed during the flight. The pilot reported no injuries. The flight originated from a private airstrip near South Lyon, Michigan at time unknown.

The pilot's written statement, dated March 15, 2000, stated, "I ... was trying to taxi on 36 - 18 on a private grass strip. I was working on trying to get the engine to clear up, by applying full power, with full flaps to put a load on the motor. half way down the runway I pull back on the throttle to turn around, and the throttle breaks. I panic I crow hop 50 feet. I turn off engine land across the road and taxi ahead and hit a farmers plowed pharo, resulting in breaking the nose wheel off."

On December 25, 1999, the pilot stated to the investigating police officer that "... he had taken off from private runway at a neighbor's house near [his] home. [The pilot] said while flying he experienced mechanical problems related to the throttle, which caused him to land in the field. [The pilot] said he landed without incident but while taxing the front wheel collapsed in the rough terrain. [The pilot] stated he was the only occupant and that he was not injured."

The Livingston County 911 service recorded a caller that lived adjacent to the airstrip who witnessed the airplane restart its engine while taxing, take off from that airstrip, gain altitude, emit smoke and fly over pine trees. Another recorded caller reported that the airplane had taken off from the airstrip and that it went down in a nursery.