Cessna 310Q N7648Q

Summary

On 7 November 2001 at about 16:18 local time, a Cessna 310Q registered N7648Q, operated by Allen W. Watson, was involved in an accident near Winston Salem, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 November 2001 at 16:18

Classification

Accident

Location

Winston Salem, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Smith Reynolds Airport (INT)

Coordinates

36.0917, -80.2917

Aircraft

Cessna 310Q

Registration

N7648Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Allen W. Watson

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Winston Salem → Centerville

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL02FA010

1 person died.

Improper installation of the elevator trim tab control rod by maintenance personnel which allowed the control rod to disconnect and jam in the full up position (elevator full down) while in-flight. This resulted in a loss of directional control and subsequent impact with trees and terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to Air Traffic Control (ATC) Transcripts, the pilot departed runway 22 at the Smith Reynolds Airport at 1112, enroute to Centerville, Tennessee. At 1113, the pilot reported that he was returning with a problem. At 1116, the pilot reported that he was experiencing "a lot of down pressure on the yoke". The pilot subsequently experienced a loss of control and the airplane collided with a tree in a residential area. Examination of the elevator found a bolt and castellated nut missing on the elevator trim tab control rod at the trim tab jackscrew. There was no evidence that the bolt had broken or sheared as a result of impact forces. Examination of the forward trim tab push-pull rod clevis revealed that its dry, oxidized condition indicated that the attaching bolt was missing for an undetermined time prior to the accident, and that the damage to the trim tab push-pull rod indicated that it was in the full up position (elevator full down) at the time of impact. The airframe had accumulated 3,650 hours of total time at the time of the accident and had accumulated 35 hours since its last inspection when all the flight controls were removed, stripped, re-painted, balanced and re-installed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.