Cessna 310L N157JW

Summary

On 5 February 1995 at about 17:01 local time, a Cessna 310L registered N157JW was involved in an accident near Valparaiso, Indiana, 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

5 February 1995 at 17:01

Classification

Accident

Location

Valparaiso, Indiana, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 310L

Registration

N157JW

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pontiac → Chicago

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI95FA082

1 person died.

spatial disorientation of the pilot while descending into the clouds. Factors were the moderate turbulance and snow.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING A NEW FREQUENCY ASSIGNMENT, WHILE DESCENDING INTO A CLOUD LAYER WITH REPORTED MODERATE TURBULENCE AND MODERATE RIME ICING, THE PILOT REPORTED 'I HAVE A LITTLE VACUUM FAILURE. I'M GONNA CLIMB OUTTA HERE.' EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF AN AIRFRAME OR ENGINE MALFUNCTION. BOTH VACUUM PUMPS OPERATED NORMALLY WHEN BENCH TESTED AND INSPECTION OF ALL VACUUM SYSTEM COMPONENTS REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION. THE DRUMS ON THE VACUUM DRIVEN VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL GYROS, AND THE ELECTRIC TURN AND BANK GYRO, SHOWED SUBSTANTIAL ROTATIONAL SCORING.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.