# NTSB DEN00LA066: Cessna 310C, N3311H, Cedar City, UT, March 22, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: March 22, 2000, 16:30 local (23:30 UTC) - Place: Cedar City, UT - Coordinates: 37.590087, -113.189491 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.5901&lon=-113.1895&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 18, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 48866 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN00LA066 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/48866/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN00LA066 ## Probable cause The failure of the right engine mixture control cable, which prevented the pilot from restarting the engine. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to follow procedures by not feathering the right propeller, the rough terrain, and the high vegetation. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - mech failure/malf, maneuvering - 1 engine - mixture control,cable - failure,total (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - procedures/directives - not followed, pilot in command (contributing factor) - propeller feathering - not performed, pilot in command - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - rough/uneven (contributing factor) - terrain condition - high vegetation (contributing factor) ## Analysis The flight instructor said that he shut down the right engine to practice single engine flight. Attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful (it was later determined that the mixture control cable had failed). The pilot did not feather the right engine, and he reported that the left engine was providing insufficient power to maintain flight. The flight instructor performed a gear down landing in the rough, brush covered desert. The owner of the airplane said that the practice engine shut down was performed at 9,500 feet mean sea level, or approximately 3,800 feet above the terrain. He said that the practice maneuver was not initiated over a landing airfield, but that two were available within 5 miles of this location. The airplane's Owner's Manual performance section indicates that the single engine best rate of climb would be from 50 feet per minute to 250 feet per minute, depending on altitude and outside air temperature. A manufacturer's representative said that a non-feathered propeller would reduce the rate of climb by approximately 400 feet per minute, and landing gear extended would reduce it an additional 300 feet per minute. ## Factual narrative On March 22, 2000, approximately 1630 mountain standard time, a Cessna 310C, N3311H, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Cedar City, Utah. The flight instructor and his private pilot certificated multiengine student were not injured. The airplane was being operated by a private individual under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local instructional flight originated from Cedar City, approximately 1 hour before the accident. No flight plan had been filed. The flight instructor said that he shut down the right engine to practice single engine flight. Attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful (it was later determined that the mixture control cable had failed). The pilot did not feather the right engine, and he reported that the left engine was providing insufficient power to maintain flight. The flight instructor performed a gear down landing in the rough, brush covered desert. The landing gear separated from the airplane, and the left wing leading edge and left horizontal stabilizer were damaged. The owner of the airplane said that the practice engine shut down was performed at 9,500 feet mean sea level, or approximately 3,800 feet above the terrain. He said that the practice maneuver was not initiated over a landing airfield, but that two were available within 5 miles of this location. The airplane's Owner's Manual performance section indicates that the single engine best rate of climb with the propeller feathered and the gear up would be from 50 feet per minute to 250 feet per minute, depending on altitude and outside air temperature. A manufacturer's representative said that a non-feathered propeller would reduce the rate of climb by approximately 400 feet per minute, and landing gear extended would reduce it an additional 300 feet per minute. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3311H](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3311H-2005-07-27), registration cancelled 2005-07-27, S/N 35835, built 1954 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 310C - Registry model: [Cessna 310C](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310c) (registry code 2074210) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental I0-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-i0-470-series) (registry code 17027, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 35835 - Engines: Continental IO-470-D 260 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Leon Matheson - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: CDC ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 39; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: right; flight hours: 847 total, 39 in this make and model, 796 as pilot in command, 231 in the last 90 days, 133 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 0° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 55 °F, dew point 25 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: CDC, 8 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20000322007429A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000322007429A), Mar 22, 2000: Cessna 310C, Cedar City, UT, No damage. (-23) While performing engine out flight instruction with right engine shut down, left engine would not develop full power, and right engine could not be… 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. --- 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.