CESSNA 310RNational Association for Stock Car Auto Racing
Sanford, FL, USA · 2007-07-10·N501N
What happened
NTSB summary, verbatimThe Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/A_Acc1.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-09-01. On July 10, 2007, about 0835 eastern daylight time, a Cessna Aircraft Company 310R, N501N, part of the fleet operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) corporate aviation division, crashed while performing an emergency diversion to Orlando Sanford International Airport, Orlando, Florida. The two pilots on board the airplane (a commercial pilot and an airline transport pilot) and three people on the ground were killed. Four people on the ground received serious injuries. The airplane and two homes were destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 on an instrument flight rules flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
Probable cause
the Board's determinationActions and decisions by National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing's corporate aviation division's management and maintenance personnel to allow the accident airplane to be released for flight with a known and unresolved discrepancy, and the accident pilots' decision to operate the airplane with that known discrepancy, a discrepancy that likely resulted in an in-flight fire. The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/A_Acc1.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-09-01.
Safety recommendations
5 issuedwhat changed because of this accidentTO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Develop a safety alert for operators informing general aviation pilots and maintenance personnel of the circuit breaker policy contained in Advisory Circular 120-80.
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Require that the contents of the safety alert for operators requested in Safety Recommendation A-09-12 be included in initial and required biennial training for general aviation pilots and maintenance personnel.
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Require aircraft manufacturers and those responsible for postmanufacture modifications to improve existing guidance, or create new guidance, regarding which circuit breakers pilots should and should not attempt to reset before or during flight and to disseminate the resultant guidance to airplane mechanics, pilots, and owners.
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Require that initial and recurrent training for maintenance personnel working on general aviation aircraft include the most current best practices regarding inspection and maintenance of electrical systems, circuit breakers, and aging wiring.
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Develop a safety alert for operators encouraging all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 business operators to adopt Safety Management System programs that include sound risk management practices.
NTSB analysis
from the final reportThe Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/A_Acc1.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-09-01. On July 10, 2007, about 0835 eastern daylight time, a Cessna Aircraft Company 310R, N501N, part of the fleet operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) corporate aviation division, crashed while performing an emergency diversion to Orlando Sanford International Airport, Orlando, Florida. The two pilots on board the airplane (a commercial pilot and an airline transport pilot) and three people on the ground were killed. Four people on the ground received serious injuries. The airplane and two homes were destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 on an instrument flight rules flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.