Flight History
On August 31, 2008, about 0940 eastern daylight time, a Cessna T310R (registration N3180M) impacted the ground near Latrobe, Pennsylvania, after losing control during cruise flight. The certificated private pilot, who was also the owner of the aircraft, was killed. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The flight was operated as a personal flight under 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
A witness reported seeing the airplane flying low, with the left wing up and right wing down. The engines sounded like they were running at full power, and the airplane was descending very fast. The witness observed the airplane clear trees, then disappear from view, followed by a thud and a plume of white and gray smoke. The wreckage was found in a heavily wooded area.
According to the coroner's report, a flight instructor who was a friend of the pilot stated that the pilot left a voicemail the morning of the accident saying he would fly at 0900 and meet the instructor at the hangar. The instructor returned the call, leaving a voicemail that he could not fly with the pilot that day. The instructor also noted that the pilot had not flown for three weeks and that the instructor flew with the pilot as a companion, not as an instructor.
Pilot Information
The pilot, age 78, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and multiengine land, issued on December 13, 1998. His last third-class medical certificate was issued on May 4, 2000, with a corrective lens waiver. His flight logbook was not recovered; on his last medical application, he reported 800 hours of total flight experience.
Aircraft Information
The six-seat, low-wing, retractable-gear aircraft was manufactured in 1980 and powered by two Continental TSIO-520 SER engines (300 horsepower each) equipped with three-bladed McCauley propellers. The aircraft's logbooks were reportedly in the pilot's hangar but were not located.
Wreckage and Impact
The wreckage was located in a heavily wooded area 15 miles northwest of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport (LBE), Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The debris path was 75 feet long on a 190-degree magnetic heading. All flight control surfaces were found at the site; the airframe was fragmented and fire-damaged. Control cable ends showed tension overload, but no preimpact mechanical malfunction was found in the airframe or flight controls.
The left engine was separated from the airframe, with all accessories, fuel lines, and ignition leads detached. The propeller flange was damaged, and the propeller separated; all three blades showed chordwise bending. No preimpact mechanical malfunction was found.
The right engine was similarly separated, with detached accessories and lines. The propeller flange and hub were broken, and the blades exhibited chordwise bending. No preimpact mechanical malfunction was found.
Medical and Toxicology
An autopsy performed on September 1, 2008, attributed the cause of death to multiple injuries due to blunt trauma. The coroner's report noted that the pilot had been recently hospitalized for congestive heart failure and had multiple cardiac conditions, including cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation, and prior myocardial infarction. The pilot's cardiologist, unaware that the pilot was flying, stated the pilot should not have been flying with his medical condition.
Forensic toxicology by the FAA detected no ethanol in the liver or muscle and no drugs in the liver.