Cessna (Textron Aviation) · Single-engine piston plane
Cessna 210 Centurion
Is the Cessna 210 Centurion safe? It ranks Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary of 23 small planes we rate, with 57 fatal accidents counted in about 4.3 million US flights since 2008.
Likely range 35 to 46
How the score is built
- Fatal accidents
- 57 in 4.3 million flights
13.3 fatal accidents per million flights. Counted: all civil flights in the United States since 2008 (private, training, charter and other), accidents and unexplained losses; not counted: accidents outside the United States or before 2008, military, test and illegal flights, sabotage, hijackings, shoot-downs and deliberate crew acts.
- Full-loss equivalents
- 54.9
Each counted accident adds the share of people on board who died (1 = no survivors). This is what the score is based on.
- Flights flown
- 4.3 million
Estimated flights of all kinds in the United States since 2008. Flights of all kinds in the United States (private, training, charter and other civil use) 2008 to 3 November 2026, each counted from take-off to final landing: the hours of all US piston singles in each year (active aircraft and hours from the FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey), split between types by US-registered aircraft (FAA register, 3,110 of this type in 2024) times how much each type flies against its class (0.91, mostly from airframe hours in NTSB accident records, partly from hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers in 2019-2022), at 1.00 hours per flight from ADS-B tracks: about 77 flights per registered aircraft per year in 2024. Flights and accidents outside the United States, or before 2008, are not used. Against the FAA's hours per helicopter model, this method is off by about 22% on a typical type. Uncertainty roughly ±25%.
- Technology generation
- Single-engine piston plane
Small fleets are pulled toward the record of the other types of their generation: 5.5 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 214 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 94%.
- Likely range
- 35 to 46
The score is 90% likely to lie in this range, given how few accidents a type has and the error in the estimate of its flights.
- Last fatal accident
- 4 March 2026
Private, Deerfield, IL, United States of America: 1 of 1 people on board died.
- Aircraft destroyed
- 36
Aircraft the NTSB coded as destroyed in an accident in the United States since 2008, fatal or not, from all causes. The NTSB codes many wrecks as only substantially damaged, so the real number is higher (context only, not in the score).
Compared with everyday risks
One flight on the Cessna 210 Centurion carries about the same risk of death as the activities near it below.
- An hour's walk1 in 14 million
- Driving 100 miles (160 km)1 in 5.9 million
- An ordinary day: accidents and violence1 in 1 million
- A day of skiing1 in 830,000
- A scuba dive1 in 500,000
- Cycling 100 miles (160 km)1 in 430,000
- Running a marathon1 in 290,000
- A skydive1 in 250,000
- A general anaesthetic1 in 100,000
- Riding a motorbike 100 miles (160 km)1 in 83,000
- One flight on the Cessna 210 CenturionThis aircraft1 in 81,000
Accident history
57 fatal accidents in the United States since 2008 count toward the score, with 95 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| PrivateT210M · Deerfield, IL, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Flying an RNAV approach to Chicago Executive at night, the pilot was given two low-altitude alerts and drifted off course; the T210M hit trees and a townhouse roof in Deerfield, Illinois. He died. The investigation has not published a cause.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Private210B · Camarillo, CA, United States of America | 1 killed / 2 on board | Descending toward Camarillo, California, from Las Vegas, the pilot declared an emergency for an engine power loss; the 210B hit a tree and a fence 2 miles short. He died and the passenger was badly hurt. The investigation has not published a cause.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Private210B · Parkin, AR, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | On an instrument flight from New Orleans to Jonesboro, Arkansas, under low cloud, the 210B crashed near Parkin after descending to 4,000 ft. All three on board died. The investigation has not published a cause.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Unknown causeNTSB docket | |
| Private210D · Kearney, NE, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Diverting to Kearney, Nebraska, for low cloud, the two pilots flew a GPS approach at night with a 500 ft overcast; the 210D hit a cornfield 5 miles north of the airport and was found the next morning. Both died. The investigation has not published a cause.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Southern Seaplane Inc210L · Raceland, LA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | On a night instrument proficiency flight with an instructor near Houma, Louisiana, in turbulence and cloud, the 210L dived near-vertically into a marsh after being cleared for the ILS approach. Both pilots died. The investigation has not published a cause.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateP210N · San Diego, CA, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Diverting at night in cloud near San Diego after four hours of flying, the pilot drifted off the ILS, went missed, reported 10 minutes of fuel and ran out; the P210N hit a hillside. He died. NTSB: fuel exhaustion, poor fuel planning and no recent instrument flying.Type: FuelNTSB docket | |
| Private210-5(205) · Cleburne, TX, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Taking off at night in cloud from Cleburne, Texas, on the last leg of a trip from West Virginia to Granbury, the Cessna 210-5 crashed within a minute after the pilots became spatially disoriented; both died.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Private210C · Shelby, MI, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | The pilot, not instrument rated, took off from Shelby, Michigan, in low cloud and rain; the 210C dived steeply into woods 1.5 miles south of the airport. Both on board died. NTSB: departing into cloud led to spatial disorientation and loss of control, with self-imposed pressure.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Centurion 85 LLCT210R · Grove City, PA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | The pilots diverted to Grove City, Pennsylvania, after oil leaked from an unsecured filler cap, added oil and left without a run-up though the engine sounded rough. It failed 15 minutes later and both died. NTSB: oil starvation, and continuing after the oil loss.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Private210H · Melbourne, AR, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Taking off from Melbourne, Arkansas, for home, the 210H used most of the runway, flew low and turned before hitting trees and burning. The pilot died. Investigators found the flaps fully extended. NTSB: failure to keep control of the airplane with full flaps on takeoff.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210M · Oxford, IA, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Landing at a private strip near Oxford, Iowa, in a strong gusty crosswind, the T210M bounced twice and ran into a cornfield; the pilot tried to take off from the field and hit a power pole. He died. NTSB: loss of directional control, then the takeoff attempt.Type: Runway excursionNTSB docket | |
| Private210L · Midway, GA, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | A doctor flying at night to an airport with no instrument approach near Midway, Georgia, descended under an overcast to 100-300 ft and hit tall pine trees 5 miles short. He died. NTSB: intentional visual flight into cloud, with pressure to get to work in an emergency room.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Great Planes Aviation210 · Lubbock, TX, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Flying a newly bought 210 with no ice protection to Lubbock, Texas, in cloud and icing, the pilot, who had felt sick, lost control on the approach. He died. NTSB: flying into icing, plus carbon monoxide poisoning from a cracked heater heat exchanger that an inspection had missed.Type: IcingNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210 · Peyton, CO, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Fitting into the traffic pattern at Meadow Lake, Colorado, behind a slower airplane, the T210N overshot the turn to final, banked steeper, then stalled and dropped into the ground from 30-50 ft. The pilot died. NTSB: failure to keep airspeed in the turn to final.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Jadair International IncP210 · Burlington, WI, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | After a new alternator belt came off, the pilot stayed in the pattern at Burlington, Wisconsin, phoning the mechanic, and flew the final approach too low and slow; the P210N stalled into trees short of the runway. He died. NTSB: failure to keep a safe altitude.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210L · Burleson, TX, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Just after takeoff for a second circuit at Fort Worth Spinks, Texas, the pilot declared an emergency as the engine went quiet; the T210L descended into trees half a mile south and burned. He died. NTSB: the engine lost power from fuel starvation.Type: FuelNTSB docket | |
| Private210 · Marathon, FL, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Leaving Marathon in the Florida Keys before dawn, without picking up his IFR clearance, the pilot made a right climbing turn over dark water; the 210A reached about 400 ft, then descended into the Gulf of Mexico. Both on board died. NTSB: spatial disorientation stopped the climb.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Hawker Helicopters LLC210 · Henefer, UT, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | On a pipeline patrol familiarization flight for a newly hired pilot, the 210L was turning around in a canyon at low altitude near Henefer, Utah, and hit the terrain. Both pilots died. NTSB: the decision to enter a canyon at low altitude.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Private210 · Apalachicola, FL, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Taking off from Apalachicola, Florida, at the end of twilight with cloud and no moon, the 210D flew a shallow, wings-level descent into an unlit marsh 2 miles north and burned. The pilot died. NTSB: flight into terrain from spatial disorientation on a dark-night departure.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Private210 · Bradley, SD, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | A pilot not rated for cloud flying tried a 35-mile hop to Webster, South Dakota, under low cloud; the T210N climbed and turned, then hit the ground nose-down near Bradley. He died. NTSB: flying into cloud led to spatial disorientation and loss of control.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| T And C Aircraft CorporationT210 · Silver City, ID, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | Flying over the Owyhee Mountains of Idaho in gusty wind, the T210M lost speed below 70 knots while turning low over rising terrain, stalled and crashed in a valley. All three on board died. NTSB: failure to keep airspeed, exceeding the critical angle of attack in the turn.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateP210 · Prescott, AZ, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Practising night landings at Prescott, Arizona, the pilot was moved to the narrower parallel runway, overshot final and hit desert terrain 1,900 ft short, then burned. He died. NTSB: misjudged height and distance from a visual illusion in dark night conditions.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| PrivateP210N · Detroit, MI, United States of America | 2 killed / 3 on board | Arriving at Detroit City Airport, the pilot spent 7 minutes in the pattern on a landing gear that would not fully extend, then said he was out of fuel; the P210N hit trees and a power line. Two of the three died. NTSB: fuel exhaustion after not diverting earlier.Type: FuelNTSB docket | |
| Private210 · Alma, CO, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | A pilot with no pilot certificate flew a poorly maintained 210A over the Colorado Rockies through forecast mountain wave and crashed at 12,700 ft near Alma; hikers found it three months later. He died. NTSB: a poor decision to go, turbulence, then loss of control.Type: TurbulenceNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210M · Oldenburg, IN, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | Climbing at night near Oldenburg, Indiana, the T210M's engine lost power when a piston failed. The pilot glided toward a closed airport, overflew it and turned into trees 2 miles north. All three died. NTSB: piston failure and a night forced landing, with stress and fatigue.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Private210 · Russian Mission, AK, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Flying from Kako toward Bethel, Alaska, the private pilot of the Cessna 210 pressed on into cloud, became spatially disoriented and lost control; it hit the Yukon River about 10 miles southwest of Russian Mission and he died.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210 · Hayden, AL, United States of America | 4 killed / 4 on board | Two hours into an instrument flight from Orlando, the pilot climbed to 12,000 ft to skirt heavy rain, then entered descending turns despite calls to climb; the T210L broke up near Hayden, Alabama. All four died. NTSB: continuing into bad weather, then disorientation.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Private210B · Opal, SD, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Returning the 210B to its hangar after an annual inspection, the pilot crashed nose-low beside the grass strip at his ranch near Faith, South Dakota, in gusty wind; no one saw it. He died. NTSB: loss of control for reasons that could not be determined.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210K · Payson, AZ, United States of America | 4 killed / 4 on board | A pilot not rated for cloud flying took three family members toward Telluride against advice, with forecast cloud over mountains; the T210K flew into terrain 14 miles north of Payson, Arizona. All four died. NTSB: starting and continuing visual flight into cloud.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| PrivateP210N · Sheridan Lake, CO, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | At 17,500 ft from Rock Springs, Wyoming, the pilot slurred on the radio and talked of aerobatics; the P210N later crashed near Sheridan Lake, Colorado. He died. NTSB: impairment from alcohol and three sedating medicines led him to try a maneuver the airplane was not approved for.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Private210 · Wantage, NJ, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | About an hour into a night flight in clear moonlight, the 210F hit trees near Wantage, New Jersey; the wreckage was found three days later. The pilot died. NTSB found nothing wrong with the airplane or pilot and could not determine why it hit the terrain.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Unknown causeNTSB docket | |
| Private210F · Pleasanton, CA, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | On a visual flight from Concord to San Jose, California, under low cloud, the pilot flew 300-600 ft above the ground along a valley, turned toward rising terrain and hit it west of Livermore. He died. NTSB: continuing visual flight into instrument conditions.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210M · Challis, ID, United States of America | 4 killed / 4 on board | Leaving the Upper Loon Creek backcountry strip in Idaho with a tailwind, the T210M's nose gear hit a 50 ft tree past the runway end; the tire likely jammed the elevator and it fell into a creek and burned. All four on board died. NTSB: departing without the needed performance.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210M · Bay City, WI, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | A pilot not rated for cloud flying reached a regional airport near Bay City, Wisconsin, under a 900 ft overcast and drizzle; a witness saw a steep bank before the T210M crashed 3 miles away. He died. NTSB: continuing visual flight into cloud, with loss of control.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Sanders Aircraft Inc210E · Richmond, CA, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Flying home in loose company with a Sea Fury after an open house, the 210E pilot made an abrupt maneuver as the faster Sea Fury closed from behind; they collided over San Pablo Bay, California. The Cessna pilot died. NTSB: both pilots failed to keep clear.Type: Mid-air collisionNTSB docket | |
| Southern Seaplane Inc210L · Clay, AL, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Near the end of a 14-hour duty day, on a night cargo flight, the pilot was vectored for an ILS approach to Birmingham, Alabama, in cloud and lost control; the 210L crashed northeast of the airport. Both on board died. NTSB: loss of control, with weak company dispatch control.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| State OF Arkansas Forestry Commission210E · Oden, AR, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | On a state fire-detection patrol near Oden, Arkansas, the pilot turned back from low cloud and hit trees on a ridgeline 14 minutes later. He died. NTSB: deciding to fly into marginal weather in an airplane whose instruments were not kept fit for cloud flying.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Montana National IncT210 · Cedaredge, CO, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Flying toward Aspen at night in snow showers, the pilot asked for an IFR clearance; while busy with it, the T210M turned unnoticed, then spiralled down and broke up over the Flat Tops, Colorado. He died. NTSB: spatial disorientation, with his attention diverted.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Brown Joseph Daniel IV210E · Williamsburg, VA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Arriving at Williamsburg, Virginia, ahead of storms in gusts to 28 knots, the pilot overshot the turn to final and steepened it; the 210E pitched down into trees half a mile short. Both died. NTSB: loss of control in gusty wind and possible wind shear, leading to a stall.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PilotP210N · Conway, AR, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | The P210N's engine stopped 300-500 ft after takeoff from Conway, Arkansas; it stalled, banked hard right and crashed just past the runway end. The pilot died. The tanks were empty. NTSB: a poor preflight inspection missed the lack of fuel, then loss of control.Type: FuelNTSB docket | |
| PrivateP210N · Santa Monica, CA, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Asking to return to Santa Monica without saying why, the pilot declared an emergency on base leg; the P210N hit treetops and a palm tree 3 miles northeast and burned. He died. NTSB: failure to hold altitude during the return; the nature of the emergency could not be determined.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Unknown causeNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210L · Boyd, TX, United States of America | 1 killed / 4 on board | Landing long on an 1,800 ft grass strip near Boyd, Texas, the pilot went around at midfield and raised the flaps too early; the T210L hit trees past the runway end and burned. One of the four on board died. NTSB: the late go-around and early flap retraction.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| ON File210 · Morgan, UT, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | On a volunteer flight to pick up a passenger, the pilot, not rated for cloud flying, left Morgan, Utah, under mountain obscuration; the 210 hit forested terrain at 7,700 ft. Both on board died. NTSB: continuing visual flight into cloud over mountains.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| PrivateP210 · Tehachapi, CA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | On a local flight from Upland, the pilot circled low over a friend's home near Tehachapi, California, with gear and flaps partly down, then turned away and the P210N hit trees and burned. Both died. NTSB: intentional low flying and failure to clear terrain due to distraction.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| PrivateP210N · Burley, ID, United States of America | 4 killed / 4 on board | Taking off from Burley, Idaho, near maximum weight in hot conditions with a tailwind, the P210N lifted off late and entered a left descending turn into the ground from 75 ft. All four died. NTSB: failure to gain enough altitude and keep control in the turn after liftoff.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210L · Romeoville, IL, United States of America | 1 killed / 2 on board | After two touch-and-go landings at Romeoville, Illinois, the T210L's engine quit on the climb-out and it hit trees and a power line. The pilot died; the passenger survived. The tanks were empty. NTSB: fuel exhaustion from poor fuel planning.Type: FuelNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210N · Armonk, NY, United States of America | 4 killed / 4 on board | The engine idled rough before takeoff from White Plains, New York, but the pilot left anyway, then turned back; the T210N glided into trees a mile short and burned. All four died. NTSB: departing with a suspected fault and a low-power final; bad magneto timing caused detonation.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| DI Giulio Robert H210D · Altavista, VA, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | On a night instrument flight to Lynchburg, Virginia, the pilot said he was disoriented, missed two ILS approaches and got several low-altitude alerts before the 210D crashed near Altavista. He died. NTSB: spatial disorientation, with little night instrument experience.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Fbn OF Catawba LLC210A · Aiken, SC, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | A pilot not rated for cloud flying flew into heavy rain near Aiken, South Carolina, relying on cockpit radar images; the 210A entered tightening right turns and crashed. He died. NTSB: continuing visual flight into cloud and misuse of datalink weather at close range.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Lamax Construction IncT210N · Coeur D'alene, ID, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the pilot, with no instrument rating or weather briefing, circled and flew low over mountains under cloud; the T210N hit terrain at 3,300 ft near Loffs Bay. Both on board died. NTSB: continuing into cloud and failure to clear terrain.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Montgomery Bay Aviation IncT210 · Mountain Home, AR, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Warned of heavy to extreme rain for 180 miles ahead, the pilot kept going, then descended to stay visual; the T210N came out of cloud in a spiral dive and its left wing failed from overload near Buffalo City, Arkansas. Both died. NTSB: flying into heavy rain and losing control.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| U.s. Department OF Agriculture Forest ServiceT210L · Lock Haven, PA, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | On a contract observation flight for the US Forest Service, the T210L trailed smoke on approach to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, and hit a pole, a house and cars short of the runway. All three died. NTSB: exhaust valve fatigue; the operator skipped its own maintenance steps.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Six Nine Romeo LLCT210G · Provo, UT, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Picking up the T210G after an annual inspection at Provo, Utah, the pilot trusted the fuel gauges and did not look in the tanks; on approach the engine quit and the airplane crashed. The pilot died. NTSB: fuel starvation after an inadequate preflight inspection.Type: FuelNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210 · Hilltop Lakes, TX, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Landing at night in drizzle at a private strip at Hilltop Lakes, Texas, with the runway lights out after a lightning strike, the pilot tried to use car headlights; the T210N lost control and crashed. He died. NTSB: spatial disorientation in dark night conditions.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateT210N · Edinburg, TX, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Soon after leaving McAllen, Texas, the pilot reported engine trouble; passing open fields, the T210N hit four sets of power lines and crashed in an orange grove. He died. NTSB: a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons and a poor choice of landing site.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Gulf States Financial Services IncT210M · Abbeville, LA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Being vectored for an instrument approach to Lafayette, Louisiana, in rain, cloud and turbulence, the pilot turned past his heading, descended and stopped answering; the T210M crashed north of Abbeville. Both died. NTSB: failure to keep control for undetermined reasons.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Private210 · Baytown, TX, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | A pilot not rated for cloud flying flew from New Iberia toward Houston into forecast poor weather, said he could not get down through it, and lost control in thick fog; the 210R hit the ground near Baytown, Texas. He died. NTSB: failure to keep control after flying into cloud.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket |
Listed but not counted
These events happened on military, test or illegal flights, or were caused by a crime or a deliberate act, which says little about the aircraft design.
| Date | Flight | Killed | Why not counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cullum Chuck R JR210B · Loveland, CO, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Deliberate act by a crew member. After 70 minutes of maneuvering near Boulder, Colorado, the pilot radioed that he had lost elevator control, kept altitude for two more minutes, then dived at high power into terrain. The coroner ruled suicide. NTSB: the pilot's intentional flight into terrain.Type: OtherNTSB docket |
The Cessna 210 is a fast, owner-flown single, and its fatal accidents are almost all private flights that went wrong in weather, at night or with too little fuel. Up to 28 October 2026 we count 57 in the United States since 2008, with 95 deaths. Of these, 55 were private or personal flights, one was a training flight and one was a night cargo flight. A 2010 crash in Larimer County, Colorado, that the NTSB found was a suicide is listed but not counted.
What is a Cessna 210?
Cessna introduced the 210 Centurion in 1960 as a retractable-gear step up from the 182. Later versions got a cantilever wing without a strut, a turbocharger (T210) and a pressurised cabin (P210). It seats up to six and cruises faster than most singles. About 3,000 are on the US register in 2026, down from 5,300 in 2008. Production has ended, so every one is decades old.
How does the 210 compare with the 172 and 182?
We look only at the United States since 2008: fatal accidents from the NTSB database, over flights (take-off to final landing) estimated from the FAA register and FAA General Aviation survey. The survey gives hours for all single-engine pistons together; airframe hours in NTSB accident records and, to a lesser degree, hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers set each type's share. Those measures show that 210s make far fewer flights a year than school trainers. A light-aircraft flight carries far more risk than an airline one. See our method and the small planes ranking.
On that yardstick and on our estimates, the 210 has about five times the fatal accidents per flight of the Cessna 172, and more than the Cessna 182, though that smaller gap is less certain. It sits in the lower part of the small planes we rate, sharing its place with the Cirrus SR22 and the Piper Apache, Aztec and Twin Comanche, just ahead of the Mooney M20 and the Beechcraft Baron. Confidence is medium.
Where do 210 accidents come from?
Loss of control is the largest group (26 of 57), then flight into terrain (12), engine failure (6) and fuel (6). The weather cases are the hardest to read. On 2 January 2017 a pilot not rated for flight in cloud flew a T210K into terrain north of Payson, Arizona, with three family members, against advice; all four died. On 26 October 2020 a pilot flew a newly bought 210, with no ice protection, into icing near Lubbock, Texas. The NTSB also found carbon monoxide poisoning from a cracked heater part that an inspection missed.
Night and dark water appear too. On 8 September 2019 a 210A left Marathon, Florida, before dawn, climbed into a turn over dark water and descended into the Gulf; both on board died. The NTSB found spatial disorientation.
The pressurised P210 flies long legs. On 15 November 2023 a P210N pilot diverting at night in cloud near San Diego, after four hours of flying, drifted off the instrument approach, reported 10 minutes of fuel left and ran out; the aircraft hit a hillside and he died. The NTSB found poor fuel planning and no recent instrument flying.
Six events were fuel problems, and in most of them the tanks were empty or the pilot had not looked in them. The one training accident, a 210L near Raceland, Louisiana, on 2 April 2025, was a night instrument-proficiency flight with an instructor: cleared for the approach in turbulence and cloud, it dived into a marsh, and both died. No cause has been published.
What to ask before you fly
- Is the pilot instrument-rated and current, and do the two of you need that today?
- How much fuel is in the tanks, checked by eye or dipstick, not the gauges alone?
- Is the flight at night over water or mountains? If yes, consider another day.
- For a T210 or P210, does the pilot have type-specific training, and is oxygen or pressurisation checked?
Look up the pilot's certificate with the FAA airmen inquiry, and the aircraft's accident history in the NTSB database.
How to tell if you are on one
Flight trackers show C210, T210 or P210. For a simpler step up, see the Cessna 182; for another high-performance single, the Beechcraft Bonanza.
Questions people ask
Is the Cessna 210 a dangerous plane?
Its record per flight is weaker than that of the Cessna 172 and 182: on our estimates it has about five times the 172's fatal accidents per flight. The cause is more in how it is flown than in its build: speed, weather and fuel leave less margin than in a trainer.
How many fatal Cessna 210 accidents are there?
We count 57 in the United States since 2008, up to 28 October 2026, with 95 deaths. All but two were private or personal flights.
What is the difference between a 210, a T210 and a P210?
The 210 has a normally aspirated engine, the T210 a turbocharger for higher altitude, and the P210 a turbocharger and a pressurised cabin. In our US record, 22 counted events involved a T210 and 9 a P210.
Does the Cessna 210 have a fixed or retractable gear?
Retractable. That raises speed and workload, and the pilot must check the gear on every landing.
What ICAO code does the Cessna 210 have?
C210 for the 210 Centurion, T210 for the Turbo Centurion and P210 for the Pressurized Centurion.
Sources
- 1.NTSB docket: Cessna T210K, Payson, Arizona, 2 January 2017 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 2.NTSB docket: Cessna 210, Lubbock, Texas, 26 October 2020 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 3.NTSB docket: Cessna P210N, San Diego, California, 15 November 2023 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 4.NTSB docket: Cessna 210B, Loveland, Colorado, 27 December 2010 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 5.NTSB docket: Cessna 210, Marathon, Florida, 8 September 2019 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 6.NTSB docket: Cessna 210L, Raceland, Louisiana, 2 April 2025 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 7.SafetyScorer exposure model: FAA aircraft register, FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey, OpenSky ADS-B, NTSB airframe hours (opens in a new tab)Flights of all kinds in the United States (private, training, charter and other civil use) 2008 to 3 November 2026, each counted from take-off to final landing: the hours of all US piston singles in each year (active aircraft and hours from the FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey), split between types by US-registered aircraft (FAA register, 3,110 of this type in 2024) times how much each type flies against its class (0.91, mostly from airframe hours in NTSB accident records, partly from hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers in 2019-2022), at 1.00 hours per flight from ADS-B tracks: about 77 flights per registered aircraft per year in 2024. Flights and accidents outside the United States, or before 2008, are not used. Against the FAA's hours per helicopter model, this method is off by about 22% on a typical type. Uncertainty roughly ±25%.