# Accident 19980508021359A: Cessna 310Q, Lafayette, GA, May 8, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 8, 1998, 15:00 local time
- Place: Lafayette, GA
- Airport: Barwick Lafayette Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.7006° N, 85.2802° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.7006&lon=-85.2802&mi=10
- Aircraft: N310DR, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N310DR-1999-01-28) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 310Q (registry code 2074242, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310q) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 310Q
- Reported engine: CONT IO520E
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,380 total, 25 in this make and model, 34 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL98LA075](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98LA075) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980508021359A

## Narrative

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

HARD LANDING BLEW LEFT MAIN TIRE. VEERED OFF RUNWAY INTO A DITCH. BLAMED HIGH SINK RATE ON FINAL. (.4)ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE HAD FLOWN SEVERAL APPROACHES TO RUNWAY 2 AND FLOATED DURING THE FLARES. ON THIS LANDING, HE DID NOT EXTEND THE FLAPS, AND FLEW THE LANDING APPROACH ABOUT FIVE KNOTS SLOWER. JUST BEFORE TOUCHDOWN, WITH A GOOD DESCENT RATE, HE ROTATED WITH NO CHANGE IN THE AIRPLANE'S PERFORMANCE. THE AIRPLANE LANDED HARD, AND THE LEFT MAIN TIRE RUPTURED. THE AIRPLANE VEERED OFF THE RUNWAY, THEN VEERED FURTHER LEFT, EVENTUALLY COLLIDING WITH A DITCH. THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT RATED PILOT PASSENGER STATED TO THE PILOT THAT IT FELT AS IF THE AIRPLANE SANK ABRUPTLY, AND MAY HAVE ENCOUNTERED A WIND SHIFT. THE PILOT ALSO STATED THAT THIS AIRCRAFT WAS A LATER MODEL THAN HE HAD PREVIOUSLY FLOWN, SO HE HAD ONLY ONE HOUR TOTAL FLIGHT TIME IN IT.  HE BELIEVES, IN RETROSPECT, HE SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED FLIGHT INSTRUCTION BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO FLY THE AIRPLANE.  THE WIND WAS FROM 290 DEGREES AT 15 KNOTS, GUSTING TO 20 KNOTS.                                              (-23)ATL98LA075

## 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 ATL98LA075](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98LA075), May 8, 1998: Cessna 310Q (N310DR), Lafayette, GA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's improper flare during landing. Factors were the pilot's lack of familiarity with the airplane and the crosswind condition.

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.
