Cessna 310I N8199M

Summary

On 11 July 2001 at about 17:30 local time, a Cessna 310I registered N8199M was involved in an accident near Amargosa Valley, Nevada, United States. 3 people were 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

11 July 2001 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Amargosa Valley, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Jackass Aeropark (U75)

Coordinates

36.5296, -116.4701

Aircraft

Cessna 310I

Registration

N8199M

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Amargosa Valley → North Las Vegas

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX01LA242

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's attempt to depart on a taxiway unsuitable for takeoff under existing conditions. An additional factor was a berm at the end of the taxiway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The Cessna 310 ran off the end of a taxiway and collided with a berm during takeoff. The pilot attempted to depart on a taxiway heading 210 degrees. He stated that the left engine sputtered at some point during the takeoff roll. An inspector from the Las Vegas Flight Standards District Office traveled to the accident site to run the engines. According to the inspector, the left engine ran smoothly, throughout it's power range, with no anomalies noted. The right engine started quickly, but upon reaching 1,000 rpm, the engine began to shake. It was determined that the crankshaft had been bent slightly and it was not safe to run the engine again. According to the Airport Facility Directory (AFD), the airport has only one runway oriented to 320 degrees and 140 degrees, respectively. There is a 1- to 3-foot-high berm on both sides of the runway, running the full length of the runway which is 6,200 feet. There are no other runways listed for the airport. The AFD also warned of damage to aircraft on the taxiway due to debris. All of the taxiway and runway surfaces at the airport are dirt. The surface on which the pilot began his takeoff roll is bounded with blue taxiway markers and was estimated to be 2,100 feet from the point the takeoff began to the berm on the runway. According to Cessna, a new Cessna 310 under similar conditions and loading, taking off on a level, dry hard surface runway, would require 1,738 feet to become airborne, and 2,061 feet to clear a 50-foot obstacle. The accident airplane was built in 1964 and no allowances were made for the dirt surface on which the takeoff was attempted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.