Cessna 310F N6762X

Summary

On 19 August 2010 at about 15:30 local time, a Cessna 310F registered N6762X was involved in an accident near LaGrange, Indiana, United States. 2 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

19 August 2010 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

LaGrange, Indiana, United States

Coordinates

41.6412, -85.4155

Aircraft

Cessna 310F

Registration

N6762X

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wauseon → Wahpeton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10LA494

Nobody was injured.

The pilot did not maintain altitude due to his distracted attention to a vibration of unknown origin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that, during cruise flight, he noticed a sudden airplane vibration, decreased controllability, and a loss of altitude. He initially thought that the vibration was coming from the empennage but later thought it was from the left engine. He stated that the engine instrument indications for both engines were normal. He elected to shut down the left engine, but the vibration and altitude loss continued. The pilot performed an off-airport landing to a pasture, and the airplane collided with obstacles. During postaccident examination, no airframe anomalies that would have induced a vibration were noted. Testing of the right engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have induced a vibration or precluded normal operation. The airplane owner's manual performance information indicated that the airplane was capable of climbing at a rate of about 500 feet per minute with one engine inoperative at the conditions that were present at the time of the accident. Given that no anomalies were found with the airframe or the right engine and that the airplane had climb performance capability even with one engine inoperative, it is likely that the pilot was distracted by the vibration and did not maintain altitude.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.