Accident
On July 14, 2010, at approximately 0855 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 310K, registration N6909L, departed the side of the runway during an aborted takeoff at El Monte Airport (EMT) in El Monte, California. The airplane was operated by Lightning Aircraft Corporation under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to both wings and the right horizontal stabilizer.
The flight had departed El Monte earlier at about 0845 for a local personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
According to the pilot, he was conducting touch-and-go landings during a post-annual maintenance flight. After touchdown, he retracted the flaps and increased power, at which point the airplane began to pull to the right. The pilot applied full left rudder and reduced the power to idle, but the airplane continued to veer right and exited the runway onto soft ground. Subsequently, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane slid to a stop.
Pilot Information
A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records revealed that the pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating. The pilot's logbook showed a multi-engine endorsement for solo flight, issued on December 24, 1984. The pilot reported to the FAA inspector-in-charge that he had accumulated 2,500 total flight hours, with approximately 1,200 hours in the accident airplane make and model. In the year preceding the accident, the pilot had flown 4 hours in the Cessna 310.
Aircraft Inspection
An inspection of the airplane by FAA maintenance inspectors found no abnormalities with the engines or flight control systems.