Cessna T310R N310JA

Summary

On 22 November 2021 at about 02:20 local time, a Cessna T310R registered N310JA was involved in an accident near Chadron, Nebraska, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 November 2021 at 02:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Chadron, Nebraska, United States

Nearest airport

Chadron Municipal (CDR)

Coordinates

42.8471, -103.1143

Aircraft

Cessna T310R

Registration

N310JA

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chadron → Fort Collins

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CEN22FA042

3 people died.

The incapacitating effects of a myocardial infarction (heart attack), which resulted in the pilot's loss of airplane control and impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed on a personal flight in dark night visual meteorological conditions. The airplane impacted terrain northwest of the airport about 30 seconds after departure. The distribution of the debris was consistent with a wings-level, slightly nose-down impact. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postimpact fire. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engines revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Although toxicology results revealed that the pilot was taking at least two medications (chlorpheniramine and dextromethorphan) that may have impaired his performance, the fact that the medication levels were unquantifiable indicated that their levels were too low for them to have had significantly impairing effects at the time of the accident. According to the autopsy findings, the pilot was actively having a heart attack in the hours before the accident. This placed him at severely increased risk for acute impairment/incapacitation from chest pain, shortness of breath, feeling faint, or becoming unconscious. Any of these symptoms would have likely led to the low altitude loss of control identified in this crash. Therefore, the pilot’s ongoing myocardial infarction (heart attack) is the most likely cause of this accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.