Cessna 310N N5080Q

Summary

On 25 January 1999 at about 20:13 local time, a Cessna 310N registered N5080Q was involved in an accident near Clearwater, Florida, United States. 3 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

25 January 1999 at 20:13

Classification

Accident

Location

Clearwater, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

St. Petersburg/Clearwater (PIE)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 310N

Registration

N5080Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA99LA068

Nobody was injured.

a ground fire in the left wing due to an undetermined ignition source.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After landing on runway 17L and turning onto taxiway 'L,' the left wing caught fire. CFR (Crash, Fire, Rescue) personnel responded and the fire was extinguished. The pilot told the FAA that after he turned onto the taxiway he heard a 'bang.' He attempted to turn the airplane to see if anything was on the taxiway, but he saw smoke. He stopped the airplane, shut off the engines, and all the occupants evacuated the airplane out the right door. Examination of the airplane's left wing revealed that soot was found in the wing bay outboard of the auxiliary fuel cell, soot was found on the stall warning switch, near an unused open terminal. Fuel stains were found on the bottom of the fuel cell bay liner and on the lower wing skin in the fuel cell area. The wing access panel, outboard of the APU plug receptacle in the engine exhaust trail area was found not sealed, as was the flap bell crank bolt access panel also located in the engine exhaust trail area. The battery positive cable was an automotive type cable. The relay end of the cable had melted. The battery ground lead had numerous broken wire strands at the battery end terminal. The fuel pump resistor and wire bundle from the left wing were sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory, Washington, D.C., in an attempt to determine if they were the source of ignition. Examination of the wires revealed they were sooted and displayed heat damage consistent with exposure to a fire. Most of the insulation on the individual wires were missing, exposing the conductors. Where the insulation was present, the insulation varied in condition from slightly sooted to completely charred and crumbling. The inspection of individual wires with a stereo microscope revealed, the copper conductors were heat damaged but remained intact. No indication of arcing or electrical shorting were found on the wire surfaces. No determination of an ignition source, for the ground fire, was determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.