Cessna 310N N70CM

Summary

On 6 January 2000 at about 22:34 local time, a Cessna 310N registered N70CM, operated by Tech Aviation, was involved in an accident near Old Forge, Pennsylvania, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 January 2000 at 22:34

Classification

Accident

Location

Old Forge, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AVP)

Coordinates

41.3709, -75.7309

Aircraft

Cessna 310N

Registration

N70CM

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Tech Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wilkes-Barre → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

NYC00FA063

2 people died.

Both pilots' failure to adequately manage the fuel supply, which resulted in fuel starvation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Several witnesses saw the airplane before impact, and heard engine noise oscillating between no power and high power. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the two main fuel tanks were ruptured and charred, but the two auxiliary fuel tanks were not compromised, and appeared absent of fuel. Only drops of fuel were found in the mechanical fuel pumps, fuel lines from the pumps to the mixture controls, and the fuel lines from the mixture controls to the injection manifolds. Examination of the airframe, engines, and propellers, did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions. Review of the fueling records revealed that all four tanks were completely fueled about 1 month prior to the accident. The airplane was operated several times after that fueling, and fuel was added to the main fuel tanks on four occasions before the accident. However, fuel was never added to the auxiliary fuel tanks. Although both auxiliary fuel tanks appeared absent of fuel at the accident site, the investigative team was unable to confirm the fuel selector positions prior to impact. The flight instructor had about 50 hours of flight experience in the make and model accident airplane, and the pilot/owner had about 100 hours of flight experience in the accident airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.