Pilot Reported Smelling Smoke The Day Before Fatal Crash

A pre-existing electrical problem may have contributed to the July 2007 fatal crash of a Cessna 310R near Sanford, FL, based information contained in an updated factual report issued Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board.

WESH-2 reports the NTSB notes the aircraft's onboard weather radar failed on a flight the day before the July 10 accident flight, with the smell of electrical components burning present. That smell disappeared when the pilot turned off the inoperative radar, according to a maintenance log found in the wreckage.

The following morning, the pilot of the accident flight was told about the problem, and replied he "didn't care about the radar" as the short trip from Daytona Beach to Lakeland, FL was to be conducted under VFR conditions.

As ANN reported, the NASCAR-operated C-310R impacted in a neighborhood two miles north of Orlando-Sanford International (SFB) within minutes after one of the two pilots onboard declared an emergency, due to smoke in the cockpit. Five people were killed in the crash, including Dr. Bill Kennedy, the husband of NASCAR official Lesa France Kennedy; and Michael Klemm, a senior captain with NASCAR Aviation. The impact also claimed two adults and small child on the ground, and injured three others.

Investigators aren't sure who was flying pilot at the time of the crash. Klemm, 56, carried an ATP rating and was described as "highly qualified" by officials, with "exceptional" proficiency in the C-310. Kennedy's skills, however, were described as "weak" in a flight review -- but the NTSB added Kennedy was counseled after that determination, and his instructor later said the 54-year-old's piloting prowess had "really improved."

Regardless of which man was at the controls, the NTSB factual report paints a nightmarish picture of dense smoke filling the cabin, that even the most seasoned pilot may not have been able to manage. The NTSB said the last radio transmission from the accident aircraft was cut off in mid-sentence, and included the phrase "shut off all radios."

The NTSB did not determine a probable cause in its report -- but NASCAR officials responded the "probable cause of this incident was an electrical fire which began within three and four minutes before the aircraft crash," further postulating the "fire ignited in electrical wiring which would have been installed behind the aircraft instrument panel by the aircraft manufacturer upon original manufacture of the aircraft in 1977."

NASCAR added the two pilots onboard handled the situation properly, by "removing electrical power from the electrical system, immediately declaring an emergency and by immediately diverting to an airport approximately three minutes away for landing" -- but that they were likely overcome by toxic fumes.

FMI: Read The NTSB's Updated Reports, www.nascar.com