Was Flying A Cessna 310 On PPSEL Certificate
We don't ever enjoy writing about any accident, of course, but
this one is particularly difficult not because the pilot survived,
but because his 35-year-old daughter was fatally injured. No
probable cause has been released, but the NTSB preliminary report
below indicates that the pilot was not yet rated to fly solo in the
airplane he had purchased.
NTSB Identification: ERA11FA102
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, January 01, 2011 in Orange, MA
Aircraft: CESSNA 310F, registration: N6725X
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Minor.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may
contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when
the final report has been completed.
On January 1, 2011, about 1757 eastern standard time, a Cessna
310F, N6725X, registered to and operated by an individual, crashed
in a wooded area adjacent to the Orange Municipal Airport (ORE),
Orange, Massachusetts, during a visual approach to runway 19.
Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. The
personal flight was conducted under Title 14 of Federal Regulations
Part 91, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane incurred
substantial damage. The pilot received minor injuries and the
passenger was killed. The flight departed about 1630, from
Dillant-Hopkins Airport (EEN), Keene, New Hampshire.
A Massachusetts State Police representative (MSPR) stated that
there were no eye witnesses to the accident. Residents near the
airport, along the approach path to runway 19, reported hearing the
airplane and noted from its sound that it was flying low compared
to what they were accustom to. Moments later they heard the crash.
One witness ran toward the area were a person (the pilot) was
yelling the passenger’s name, the pilot instructed the
witness to call 911.
The pilot stated to the MSPR that he became a pilot in 1989 and
has about five hundred hours of flight experience. For a period of
6 to 7 years he stopped flying and resumed about a year ago with an
instructor. He purchased the accident airplane around May or June
of 2010. About 1630 he and the passenger departed from EEN and flew
over Franklin County where the pilot is originally from. He had
decided to practice a “touch and go” landing at ORE
before returning to EEN; the pilot mentioned he had flown to ORE
previously. When the pilot approached the airport there was less
ambient light than he’d anticipated and there was a
“haze” in the air; he also found the airplane to lose
altitude faster than his previous airplane. He did not notice the
trees the airplane collided with until after the crash and he was
on the ground. He reported no mechanical issues with the plane
prior to the accident.
Personnel Information
The pilot, who was seated in the left seat, held a private pilot
certificate with rating for airplane single engine land. He did not
hold a multiengine rating. He was issued a Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate on September
10, 2010, with limitations that he must wear correcting lenses for
distant and possess glasses for near vision. He had documented 500
total hours at that time. A review of the pilot’s flight
logbook showed the pilot had about 50 hours of multi-engine
instructional time. There was no multi-engine solo endorsement. The
last entry for night time flight was in 2000.
The passenger, seated in the right seat, held no FAA
certificates.
Aircraft Information
The Cessna 310F, a 4 place all metal, low wing, multi-engine
airplane, with retractable landing gear, serial number 310-0025,
was manufactured in 1960, and issued a standard airworthiness
certificate, in the normal category. The airplane was powered by 2
each Continental IO-470-D, 260-horsepower engine and equipped with
Hartzell two bladed, variable-pitch, propellers.
The airplane’s last annual inspection was February 1, 2010
and had a total of 5,416, hours at that time. The airplane’s
engines were last inspected on February 1, 2010. The airplane last
had maintenance on September 4, 2010; addressing a FAA Condition
Notice. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulated a
total of 5,471 hours.
Meteorological Information
The ORE 1752 METAR, was winds from 310 degrees at 3 knots;
visibility, 9 statute miles; clear sky; temperature 02 degrees
Celsius (C); dew point minus 1 degrees C; altimeter 30.00 inches of
mercury.
The United States Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications
Department recorded the phase of the Moon, on 1 January, 2010 for
Orange, Massachusetts, as waning crescent with 8 percent of the
Moon's visible disk illuminated. The Moon’s position was
recorded just above the horizon during the time of the accident.
The sunset was at 1648 and the end civil twilight was 1658.
Airport Information
Runway 19 at ORE is an asphalt, 5000 foot long by 75 foot wide,
with a 850 feet displaced threshold, at an elevation of 533 feet
mean sea level (msl). The airport is does not have a control tower
and none of the 4 runways are equipped with a visual slope
indicator. Information cautioning trees at the approach end of
runway 19 are published. The runway lighting system is controlled
by the airport’s common traffic frequency.
Wreckage And Impact Information
The main wreckage came to rest at latitude 42 degrees, 34.604
minutes north and longitude 072 degrees, 17.407 minutes west, at an
elevation of 536 feet msl; the nose of the airplane was on a
heading of 080 degrees. The airplane’s energy path was on a
200 degrees heading. The airplane initial contact was with a 70
foot tall tree, about 202 feet north from the main wreckage. The
second contact was with a tree at a height about 55 feet above
ground level (agl). The right aileron was located 125 feet north
from the main wreckage. The third contact was with a thick tree at
a height of 45 feet agl. Near that location a section of the right
outboard wing was located on the ground. The fourth contact was
with a thick tree at a height of 40 feet agl. The mid section of
the right wing along with the right main landing gear, in the
extended position, was located at the base of that tree.
Several trees were impacted thereafter along the energy path
until the airplane’s left forward inboard wing to fuselage
area struck a large diameter tree about a height of 25 feet agl.
The airplane lodge itself at that location. The tree broke over
near the base, which resulted in the airplane impacting the ground,
in a fresh water creek, inverted. The left out board wing section
with the tip fuel tank was located 20 feet southeast of the main
wreckage. The nose gear assembly was located the furthest from the
initial tree contact, about 45 feet east of the main wreckage. The
left engine came to rest about 5 feet from the main wreckage, left
wing area. The right engine came to rest about 30 feet east of the
main wreckage. The engines and the left outboard wing section came
to rest across the creek on public property. The distant from the
initial tree contact to the beginning of the displaced threshold
was about 640 feet and 1,490 feet to the touch down zone of runway
19.
An on-scene wreckage examination showed all of the flight
control surfaces and control cable continuity were accounted for.
The right wing was the first to contact the trees separating, the
tip tank, the wing section between the engine nacelle and tip tank
and then separating the wing from outboard of the engine to the
fuselage. The right aileron was observed separated from the wing
and early in the wreckage path. The right fuel tip tank was
observed stuck in the tree approximately 60 feet agl. The left wing
was observed separated just outboard of the engine. There was an
impact with a tree approximately, 12 inches in diameter, just
outboard of the left side of the fuselage which severed the main
spar.
The both horizontal stabilizer were observed to have impact
damage from the trees approximately 6 inches inboard of the tip.
Both control yokes were observed in the respective locations in the
instrument panel and moved together. The rudder pedals moved when
the rudder was moved by hand. The elevator cables in the tailcone
were observed connected; impact damage to the forward fuselage
prevented the control yokes from moving when the elevator was moved
by hand.
The aileron cables were continuous from the cockpit to the left
wing aileron bellcrank. The aileron cables for the right wing were
not observed, due location of the wreckage and damage to the right
wing. All four of the flap panels were observed extended. The flap
actuator was not observed due to the position of the wreckage. The
empennage flight control surfaces were observed attached to their
respective aerodynamic surfaces. All three trim tabs were observed
attached to their respective control surfaces. The trim tab
actuator measurement for the rudder was observed beyond the limits
displacing the rudder tab to the right. The right aileron was
observed separated from the wing. The left aileron was observed
attached to the left wing.
Both the front seats were observed separated from the seat
pedestals and found outside the aircraft. The seat pedestal for the
left front seat was observed distorted. The seat pedestal for the
right front seat was observed with minor damage. The top forward
section of the cabin area was crushed inward. The left side of the
cabin area absorbed most of the impact. Both forward center
attachment tabs for the front, left and right, lap seat belt
systems were observed with their respective bolts ripped through
the metal tab. The forward windshield was broken; remnants
remained. Both of the rear seats remained attached to the fuselage.
The left engine magneto switch was observed in the
“Both” position. The right engine magneto switch was
observed in the “Left “ position. The left fuel
selector was observed in the “Left Main” position. The
right fuel selector was observed in between “Right
Main” and “Right Aux” position. Engine control
levers (throttles, propellers, and fuel mixtures) were observed in
the full forward position. The altimeter setting was observed at
29.95 inches of mercury.
The left engine’s number 2 cylinder’s valve cover
was observed with impact damage. Tree debris was observed in the
area in between the engine cowling and top cylinders. Engine
continuity was established by rotating the propeller and observing
the alternator belt rotate. The fuel control assembly was intact.
The fuel divider was observed with clean screen and fuel was
present when opened. All top cylinder spark plugs were removed and
observed with indication of the engine running rich. The left
engine’s propeller was attached at the engine crankshaft
flange. The propeller hub was compromised by impact damage. Both
blades were bent aft at mid span. One blade was observed in the low
pitch and the other in the high pitch angle. No cord scoring was
observed on the blades.
The right engine’s number 1 cylinder valve cover was
observed with impact damage. The oil sump pan was crushed. The fuel
control assembly separated and was observed with impact damage.
Engine continuity was established by rotating the propeller and
observing the alternator belt rotate. The fuel engine driven fuel
pump drive shaft was intact. The fuel divider’s top screws
were not properly safety. The fuel divider was observed with clean
screen and fuel was present when opened. The top cylinder spark
plugs were removed; unremarkable. The right engine’s
propeller was attached at the engine crankshaft flange. The
propeller hub was unremarkable. One of the blades was observed with
cord “S” twisting and bent aft, the other blade was
bent aft at mid span. Erosion on the leading edge of the blades was
observed. One blade was in the low pitch and the other in the high
pitch angle.