Cessna 340A N341TL

Summary

On 27 July 1996 at about 15:55 local time, a Cessna 340A registered N341TL was involved in an accident near Richland, Washington, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 July 1996 at 15:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Richland, Washington, United States

Coordinates

46.2497, -119.2908

Aircraft

Cessna 340A

Registration

N341TL

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pasco → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA96FA171

2 people died.

The pilot-in-command's allowing the aircraft's airspeed to decrease below the single-engine minimum control speed (Vmc) resulting in a stall/spin condition. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilot-in-command's allowing the left engine to be shut down as well as his allowing the aircraft's airspeed to decelerate below the manufacturer's recommended intentional one-engine inoperative airspeed. A third factor was the aircraft's low altitude at the stall/spin entry which precluded a successful recovery.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot-under-instruction (PUI) who possessed an expired medical, and the pilot-in-command (PIC), an ATP pilot with 1240 hours in the Cessna 340, departed on the third training flight for the PUI in the aircraft. The second training flight, flown the previous Saturday, had included single-engine work. The aircraft was observed in the vicinity of the Richland airport by witnesses, several of whom reported the left propeller turning slowly. All witnesses reported seeing the aircraft descending rapidly to the ground in a nose down attitude and several witnesses described the descent as a spin. The aircraft impacted the ground in a near vertical, nose low attitude and was destroyed by fire. Postcrash examination of the aircraft revealed the left propeller in the feathered position and power signatures on the blades of the right propeller. Disassembly of both engines revealed no pre-impact mechanical malfunction. The gear and flaps were up and the rudder trim tab showed about 5 degrees of left tab trim. The information manual for the Cessna 340 indicates that the air minimum control speed (single engine), Vmca is 82 KIAS. The manual also indicates that a more suitable airspeed for one engine inoperative training events is 91 KIAS.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.