N8080MCessna 310I · 1964

On March 21, 2020, about 1859 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 310I, N8080M, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Charleston, South Carolina. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

On March 18, 2020, the pilot departed Zephyrhills Municipal Airport (ZPH), Zephyrhills, Florida, and landed at South Jersey Regional Airport (VAY), Mount Holly, New Jersey, about 2030. The airplane remained on the ramp until March 21, 2020, when the pilot departed VAY for ZPH. The pilot landed at Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport (RWI), Rocky Mount, North Carolina, about 1630 for fuel and then continued the flight to ZPH on an instrument flight rules flight plan. An airport lineman at RWI stated that, per the pilot’s request, he serviced the airplane’s four fuel tanks fully with fuel.

A review of air traffic control communications and radar data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that, about 1852, the airplane was enroute to ZPH at an altitude of about 8,000 ft mean sea level (msl). About that time, the pilot notified air traffic control that the airplane was experiencing a loss of engine power and he needed to land immediately at the nearest airport. The controller provided the pilot with radar vectors to Charleston Executive Airport (JZI), Charleston, South Carolina, and then asked the pilot which engine he was having problems with. The pilot told him, “should be my left but having problems with both engines.” The controller continued to provided radar vectors to the pilot for runway 9 at JZI, but radar contact with the airplane was lost about 1/4-mile northwest of the approach end of runway 9, at 1859.

Two witnesses reported hearing the airplane as it flew overhead shortly before they accident. They both described that the airplane’s engines were increasing and decreasing in their rpm, and that the engines sounded as if they were being starved of fuel.

The pilot’s logbook was recovered; however, the logbook was waterlogged and illegible.

The airplane was configured with a 133-gallon fuel system. The system consisted of a main and auxiliary tank in each wing. The main tanks held 51 gallons each and the auxiliary tanks held 15.5 gallons each.

The accident fight was about 1.5-hr in duration. According to the Cessna 310 Pilot’s Operating Handbook, the estimated fuel burn at normal (58%) power at 7,500 ft. was 22 gal/hr.

Inspectors with the FAA responded to the accident site and examined the wreckage. The airplane came to rest in a densely forested area in the vicinity of the airplane’s last radar-observed location, about ¼-mile northwest of runway 9 at JZI. The fuselage was inverted and both wings, as well as the horizontal stabilizer, were separated. The debris field was contained within 20 yards of the main wreckage and there was no fire. All four fuel tanks were damaged, and there was fuel pooled around the main wreckage.

The wreckage was recovered from the accident site and examined in detail at a salvage storage facility. Examination of the airframe and engines showed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure. Both fuel selectors were found in the auxiliary tank position. A Garmin GDU 1060 was removed from the airplane and sent to the National Transportation Safety Board Vehicle Recorders Laboratory for data download. The accident flight was recorded, and among the parameters recorded were altitude, airspeed, the fuel quantity of both the main and auxiliary fuel tanks, as well as the fuel flow for both engines.

The data showed that, about 1733, the airplane began accelerating for takeoff. The airplane reached a cruise altitude around 8,000 feet msl around 1754, and about that time, the fuel flow for both engines was around 13.9 gallons per hour. During this initial portion of the flight, the fuel quantity in the main fuel tanks was gradually decreasing. About 1819, the fuel quantity of the left axillary fuel tank began decreasing. About 2 minutes later, the fuel quantity of the right auxiliary fuel tank began decreasing. Around this time, the fuel quantities of the main fuel tanks stopped decreasing and began to slowly increase for the remainder of the flight. About 1847, the fuel quantity in the left auxiliary fuel tank decreased below 1 gallon, and around 1852, the fuel flow to the left engine began erratically decreasing until reaching less than 1 gallon per hour by 1856, where it remained for the remainder of the flight. The altitude began to decrease below 8,000 feet msl about 1853. About this time, the right auxiliary fuel tank quantity decreased below 1 gallon, and the right engine fuel flow also began an erratic decrease, with the final recorded data around 1859 indicating a fuel flow of about 4 gallons per hour. The altitude and airspeed decreased until the final data were recorded at 1859:17, at an altitude of 219 feet, and an airspeed of 66 knots.