Cessna 310C N1779H

Summary

On 24 June 2000 at about 03:30 local time, a Cessna 310C registered N1779H was involved in an accident near Erie, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 June 2000 at 03:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Erie, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

40.0191, -105.0392

Aircraft

Cessna 310C

Registration

N1779H

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Erie → Pinedale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN00LA116

Nobody was injured.

A sudden and unexpected encounter with a downdraft while on final approach. A factor was the transmission wire.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot realized shortly after taking off that he had left behind his wallet containing his pilot credentials. He turned around and made a southerly approach to his private airstrip. During the approach, he encountered 'a sudden wind change or down draft.' The nose landing gear clipped an electrical line. He abandoned the approach, then made low passes over two airports. At both airports, ground personnel confirmed the nose landing gear was twisted 90 degrees to the left, and was pushed back and dangling. The pilot then proceeded to the northeast where he circled for about 1 hour to burn off fuel. He returned to the second airport and landed. When the nose landing gear contacted the runway, it pulled the airplane to the left, and it came to a halt in the grass next to the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.