# Accident 19980426016839A: Cessna T310R, Pie Town, NM, April 26, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 26, 1998, 16:30 local time
- Place: Pie Town, NM
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.3292° N, 108.2806° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.3292&lon=-108.2806&mi=10
- Aircraft: N467DL, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N467DL-2018-01-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna T310R (registry code 2074246, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-t310r) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental TSIO-520 series (registry code 17040, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA T310R
- Reported engine: CONT TSIO520B
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 2,500 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA393](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA393) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980426016839A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.19) ON APRIL 26, 1998, A CESSNA 310R, N467DL, DISAPPEARED WHILE EN ROUTE TO LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO. A REVIEW OF ALBUQUERQUE CENTER RADAR INDICATED THAT RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST ABOUT 13 MILES WEST OF SPRINGERVILLE, ARIZONA.  THE PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, IS PRESUMED TO BE FATALLY INJURED.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING OPERATED AS A PERSONAL FLIGHT BY THE PILOT/OWNER WHEN THE AIRCRAFT WAS REPORTED MISSING.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED IN CARSON CITY, NEVADA, AT 1105 PACIFIC STANDARD TIME.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED ALONG THE ROUTE OF FLIGHT AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED.  AN UNCONFIRMED ALTITUDE READOUT INDICATED THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESCENDING THROUGH ABOUT 10,500 FEET AT THE TIME RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST.  (FROM .4)  THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED CARSON CITY, NEVADA, ON APRIL 26, 1998, AND WAS EN ROUTE TO LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO.  RADAR DATA INDICATES IT FLEW AT 13,500 FEET MSL AT AN AVERAGE GROUND SPEED OF 185 KNOTS THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE FLIGHT.  AS THE AIRPLANE APPROACHED THE ARIZONA-NEW MEXICO BORDER, IT DESCENDED AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF 669 FEET PER MINUTE AND 209 KNOTS GROUND SPEED.  THE LAST RADAR CONTACT WAS AT A POINT 13 WEST OF SPRINGERVILLE, ARIZONA, WHEN THE AIRPLANE WAS AT 10,500 FEET MSL. ON SEPTEMBER 13, 1998, THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED IN THE SAWTOOTH MOUNTAINS, ABOUT 2.5 MILES EAST OF PIE TOWN, NEW MEXICO, AND 75 MILES EAST OF THE LAST POINT OF RADAR CONTACT.  WITNESS MARKS PROVIDED EVIDENCE THAT THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH VERTICAL TERRAIN IN A WINGS LEVEL ATTITUDE.  ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT, CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY WAS FORCAST, AND SATELLITE PHOTOS SHOWED EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER IN THE AREA.                               (-23) ON APRIL 26, 1998, APPROXIMATELY 1600 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA T310R, N467DL, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN WHILE DESCENDING 2.5 MILES EAST OF PIE TOWN, NEW MEXICO. THE INSTRUMENT RATED COMMERCIAL PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. ALTHOUGH VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS WERE REPORTED ALONG THE ROUTE OF FLIGHT, INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS WERE SAID TO PREVAIL IN THE ACCIDENT AREA. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT CARSON CITY, NEVADA, AT 1105 PACIFIC STANDARD TIME.

## 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 FTW98FA393](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA393), Apr 26, 1998: Cessna T310R (N467DL), Pie Town, NM, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's continuing VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing factors were weather conditions, that included clouds, and mountainous terrain.

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.

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