Cessna 310L N2276F

Summary

On 28 September 2002 at about 00:36 local time, a Cessna 310L registered N2276F was involved in an accident near Virgil, New York, 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

28 September 2002 at 00:36

Classification

Accident

Location

Virgil, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Cortland County Chase (NO3)

Coordinates

42.5050, -76.1923

Aircraft

Cessna 310L

Registration

N2276F

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kingsford → Cortland

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

NYC02FA197

1 person died.

The pilot's decision to continue the flight into IMC after canceling his IFR clearance, and his failure to maintain terrain clearance while maneuvering. Factors in the accident were rain, low ceilings, and night.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was cleared for an instrument approach. When the airplane was approximately 13 miles south of the airport, the pilot requested that the controller advise him when the airplane was over the final approach fix. The controller responded he would be unable due to the lack of radar coverage in the area, so the pilot cancelled his IFR clearance. About 4.5 minutes later, the airplane was seen flying about 80 feet agl, with both engines running. About 30 seconds after that, the airplane impacted trees. The ceiling at the time of the accident was approximately 500 feet, the visibility was approximately 0.75 mile in rain, and night prevailed. Examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact failures or malfunctions with either the engine or airframe.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.