Cessna 310R Air Crash Report Highlights and Failures

Episode 128

The NTSB report of a 2010 Cessna 310R air crash in Palo Alto, California gets mixed reviews. Todd’s impressed by a sound study used to recreate the flight path, and John finds lots of detail in the examination of the wreckage, engine and prop. The positive first impression falls apart when Greg highlights missing details.

The report does not answer many questions, including:

• Appropriateness of unusual air traffic control instructions to “take off at your own risk”
• Why the pilot turned left rather than right shortly after takeoff
• How 200 knot speed was achieved just 14 seconds after takeoff

The “ridiculous” probable cause statement relies on the obvious and doesn’t reflect the facts documented in the report.

The Flight Safety Detectives raise questions that need to be answered to find the aviation safety lessons to be learned from this accident. They raise questions about this aircraft crash that will continued to be explored in the next episode.

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