# Accident 19950816024139A: Cessna T310R, Altoona, PA, August 16, 1995 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 16, 1995, 01:48 local time - Place: Altoona, PA - Airport: Altoona-Blair County - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Normal Cruise - Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135) - Operator: UHEA - Location: 40.3095° N, 78.3195° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.3095&lon=-78.3195&mi=10 - Aircraft: N2640L, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2640L-1997-03-18) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna T310R (registry code 2074246, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-t310r) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA T310R - Reported engine: CONT TSIO520BB - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Pilot flight hours: 4,400 total, 250 in this make and model, 145 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC95FA195](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC95FA195) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19950816024139A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. PREVIOUSLY MISSING, LOCATED, DEVELOPED PROBLEM, BEGAN TO DESCEND, ATC LOST CONTACT. (.4)WHILE FLYING AT NIGHT, ABOUT 10,000 FEET MSL, THE FLIGHT REPORTED AN ENGINE PROBLEM, DECLARED AN EMERGENCY, AND REQUESTED VECTORS TO THE NEAREST AIRPORT FOR LANDING. WHEN QUERIED, THE PILOT STATED, '...WE GOT A FIRE IN THE RIGHT ENGINE.' WHILE DIVERTING, THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ALTITUDE (LEVEL FLIGHT) UNTIL THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED TO ABOUT 1700 FEET. THE TOPS OF RIDGES IN THE AREA WERE ABOUT 2500 TO 2800 FEET. SUBSEQUENTLY, ABOUT 15 MILES FROM THE ALTERNATE AIRPORT, THE AIRPLANE HIT TREES DURING DARKNESS AT AN ELEVATION OF ABOUT 1720 FEET AND CRASHED. EXAMINATION OF THE RIGHT ENGINE REVEALED THAT THE LAST 8 TO 12 INCHES OF THE RIGHT OVERBOARD TUBE HAD SEPARATED CIRCUMFERENTIALLY FROM THE EXHAUST SYSTEM. A METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION OF THE EXHAUST STACK REVEALED EVIDENCE OF FATIGUE; THERE WERE NUMEROUS HOT GAS CORROSION CRACKS THAT HAD ORIGINATED AT THE INTERIOR SURFACE AND HAD PROPAGATED THROUGH THE WALL THICKNESS OF THE STACK. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT A BREACH OF THE RIGHT EXHAUST STACK ALLOWED HOT, HIGH VELOCITY GASES TO ESCAPE AND INITIATE A FIRE. THE ALTOON WEATHER WAS IN PART: 8,000' SCATTERED, 3 MILES VISIBILITY WITH FOG AND HAZE. (.19)ON AUGUST 16, 1995, ABOUT 0148 EDT, A CESSNA 310R, WAS DESTROYED DURING A FORCED LANDING, NEAR ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA. THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT AND COMMERICAL PILOT WERE FATALLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE FLIGHT, WHICH DEPARTED CARILSLE, PENNSYLVANIA, AT APPROXIMATELY 0130. THE ON DEMAND AIR TAXI FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 135. WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT, ENROUTE TO DETROIT, MICHIGAN, THE PILOT WAS IN CONTACT WITH THE CLEVELAND AIR ROUTE CONTROL CENTER. THE PILOT INFORMED THE CONTROLLER AT CLEVELAND HE HAD A ENGINE PROBLEM, DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND REQUESTED A LANDING AT THE NEAREST AIRPORT. THE CONTROLLER ASKED THE PILOT THE MATURE OF THE PROBLEM AND THE PILOT RESPONDED THAT THERE WAS A FIRE IN THE ENGINE. THE CONTROLLER VECTORED THE PILOT TO ALTOONA, AND LOST RADAR CONTACT WITH THE AIRPLANE AT AN ALTITUDE OF 2400 FEET MAN SEA LEVEL (MSL). THE PILOT RADIO CLEVELAND THAT HE WAS AT 1700 MSL AND THERE WAS NO FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS. A SEARCH WAS MADE BY GROUND AND AN AIR, AND AT APPROXIMATELY 2000 ON AUGUST 16, 1995, THE AIRPLANE WAS FOUND. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED IN A WOODED AREA APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES NORTH OF THE ALTOONA AIRPORT, AT AN ELEVATION OF 1720 FEET MSL. THE TOPS OF THE RIDGES IN THE AREA OF THE ACCIDENT SITE WERE 2500 TO 2800 FEET. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB NYC95FA195](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC95FA195), Aug 16, 1995: Cessna 310R (N2640L), Altoona, PA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: propagation of corrosion cracks in the right engine overboard exhaust stack and fatigue failure of the exhaust stack, which resulted in escape of hot/high velocity gases, in-flight fire, emergency… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.