Cessna 310D accident near Los Angeles, CA
On May 4, 1996, a Cessna 310D (airplane) was involved in an accident near Los Angeles, CA. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 4, 1996
- Place
- Los Angeles, CA
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310D · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 33.951°N, 118.400°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X05801
NTSB summary
History of the Flight On May 3, 1996, at 2107 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 310D, N6780T, collided with the surface of the Pacific Ocean about 3 miles west of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Los Angeles, California, after a go-around from runway 25L. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces. Two certificated commercial pilots and two passengers received fatal injuries. The airplane was rented by the pilot for a personal cross-country flight. The flight originated in Phoenix, Arizona, at 1934. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed. At 2059, the LAX air traffic control tower local controller cleared the pilot to land on runway 25L. At 2103, the pilot indicated he was executing a go-around and that he did not have the "green lights" for the landing gear. At this time, the airplane was at a position about 3,400 feet west of the runway 25L threshold about 75 feet above the ground. The local controller asked the pilot if he needed any assistance. The pilot indicated, "we're going to find the error." The local controller told the pilot that all three landing gear appeared down and cleared the pilot to climb to 2,000 feet mean sea level (msl), turn to a heading of 200 degrees, and to remain on frequency. The pilot acknowledged the clearance stating, "climbing to two thousand." At 2104, the local controller instructed the pilot to turn left heading 220 degrees, climb and maintain 2,000 feet msl, and contact Southern California departure control. The local controller received no
Probable cause
failure of the pilot to maintain aircraft control due to spatial disorientation. Factors were clouds and dark night light conditions, and the pilot's diverted attention due to a landing gear problem.
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Browse: California · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
