Teterboro Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Teterboro, New Jersey 07608
Saturday, March 9, 2002 13:58 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Several witnesses observed the Cessna T210N on initial climb, and then heard a reduction of engine power. Some witnesses thought the nose had pitched up after the power reduction, and prior to the airplane turning left and descending. The airplane banked left, descended, and struck the ground on airport property. A post-crash fire started within seconds after the airplane came to rest and consumed the cabin of the airplane. Examination of the engine revealed that the air filter element was lodged into the turbocharger air intake, and adjacent ducting. The single screen on the air filter was found on the air intake side. Installation instructions specify that with a single screen, the screen should be on the engine side of the air filter element. The air filter element had been changed during an annual inspection, about 2 1/2 months, and 30 hours prior to the accident. The specified change interval for the filter element was 12 months, 200 hours, or when the filter element was 50 % covered by foreign material. The initial emergency procedure for loss of engine power after takeoff was to maintain an airspeed of 85 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Improper maintenance by other maintenance personnel, which resulted in the air filter element being sucked into and blocking the turbocharger inlet, and a subsequent power loss. Factors in the accident were the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed and the tail wind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/9/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1358
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Teterboro
Event State NEW JERSEY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 07608
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 405135N
Event Location Longitude 0740320W
Event Location Airport Teterboro
Event Location Nearest Airport ID TEB
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.6
Degrees magnetic from airport 33
Airport Elevation 9
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1351 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID TEB
Elevation of weather observation facility 9
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 7500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.25
Density Altitude (feet) 181
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12439
NTSB Notification Source EROC
NTSB Notification Date Mar 9 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1430
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 23 2002 10:24AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Teterboro, New Jersey

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2BS
NTSB Number NYC02FA068
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model T210N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 21063095
Certified Max Gross Weight 3800
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 21 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 4335
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name William L. Sonn
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City New York
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 1033
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code TEB
Departure City Teterboro
Departure State NJ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1357
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MTP
Destination City Montauk
Destination State NY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Sep 26 2002 4:51PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 6
Runway Length 6013
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --