N498TB

On March 25, 2024, about 1100 central daylight time, a Cessna T210M airplane, N498TB, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near San Saba, Texas. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that during a cross-country flight at 11,000 ft, he noticed that the engine manifold pressure started to decrease slowly. The pilot proceeded to San Saba County Municipal Airport and started a descent for a precautionary landing. The oil pressure gauge went to zero, and the propeller began to overspeed during the descent. With the airport in sight, smoke began to exit the engine cowl as the pilot lined up to land on runway 31 The pilot lowered the landing gear but kept the flaps retracted as the airplane approached stall speed. The pilot landed the airplane about 100 yards short of the runway in wet grass. The landing gear dug into terrain and the airplane flipped over which resulted in substantial damage to the front of the fuselage and wings.

After egressing the airplane, the pilot noticed a small fire near the engine compartment. He used a handheld fire extinguisher that was in the cockpit and emptied the extinguisher into the air intake of the engine cowling to suppress the fire.

The airplane was moved to a secure hangar for further examination.