LAX96FA189

The pilot elected to go-around due to an unsafe gear indication during a night landing. The air traffic controller asked the pilot if he needed assistance. The pilot responded, 'we're going to find the error.' The airplane climbed into a cloud layer and was later observed descending out of the clouds in a nose down attitude. The airplane impacted the ocean about 3 miles west of the airport. There was no evidence found of mechanical failure or malfunction with the airplane.

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 response from the pilot and issued the clearance again. The local controller again issued the clearance with no response. The local controller then referred to the D-Brite radar display in the tower cab and observed the target about 1/2 mile offshore at a displayed altitude of 800 feet msl. According to the local controller, after the next sweep of the radar antennae the target disappeared.

Radar data depicted the airplane in the last 9 seconds climbing to 1,400 feet msl, and then descending to 1,300 feet msl, when it disappeared from radar. Eye witnesses positioned on Dockweiler Beach about 1/2 mile from the accident site indicated they saw the airplane descend in a near vertical nose-down attitude until it hit the water. One witness who first observed the airplane stated she saw the airplane first descend out of a cloud. A scheduled record weather observation taken about 45 minutes after the accident indicated a 1,300 foot broken ceiling at LAX.

Pilot Information

First Pilot

The first pilot held a commercial pilot certificate which was issued on February 15, 1996. The pilot upgraded his single engine airplane rating from private pilot privileges to commercial pilot privileges on the above date. The pilot completed his commercial pilot rating and multiengine airplane rating at the same time on January 23, 1996.

The Safety Board examined portions of the first pilot's logbook, which was found floating in the water in the area of the accident, and the pilot's airman records, maintained by the FAA Airman Certification Branch in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. According to his logbook, the first pilot's total aeronautical experience consisted of about 346 hours, of which 36 hours were accrued in multiengine airplanes. The pilot indicated on his application for a multiengine airplane rating that he had flown 10.1 hours in a Piper PA-30, which was the type aircraft used for the pilot's multiengine airplane flight test.

Second Pilot

The second pilot held a commercial pilot certificate which was issued on February 23, 1996. The second pilot also held a private pilot certificate with single and instrument airplane privileges before applying for the commercial flight test. The pilot completed his commercial pilot rating and multiengine airplane rating flight tests simultaneously on the above date.

Portions of the second pilot's logbook were found floating in the vicinity of the accident scene. The last date entered in the recovered portions of the logbook was March 29, 1996. The aeronautical experience listed in this report was obtained from a review of available logbook pages and of airmen FAA records on file in Oklahoma City. The pilot's total aeronautical experience consisted of about 330 hours, of which about 29 were accrued in multiengine airplanes. The pilot's airmen records indicate he had flown about 13 hours in the Piper PA-44-180 before completing his multiengine airplane flight test. The pilot received about 1 hour of dual instruction on March 1, 1996, and then logged another 10 hours in the Cessna 310 over the next 5 days.

Airplane Information

The airplane was manufactured in 1960, and had accumulated a total time in service of 4,605 flight hours. Examination of the maintenance records revealed that the most recent annual inspection was accomplished on July 2, 1995, about 418 flight hours before the accident. In addition, a 100-hour inspection was completed on March 13, 1996, about 22 flight hours before the accident.

Two Teledyne Continental IO-470-D engines were installed in the airframe. The total time in service for both engines could not be determined from examination of maintenance records. Since major overhaul, the left engine had accrued about 1,140 flight hours, and the right engine about 990 flight hours. Annual and 100-hour inspections were accomplished on the dates specified above for the airframe.

Review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed that on April 15, 1996, the right main gear down indicator switch actuator was replaced. The airplane's landing gear was cycled three times and the emergency extension system was tested after the part was replaced. The airplane was then returned to service.

On April 17, 1996, the return spring for the squat switch on the left main landing gear strut was found broken. The squat switch, which actuates the hobbs meter in-flight, was replaced. The landing gear was again cycled three times and the airplane was returned to service.

Meteorological Information

The closest official weather observation station is the Los Angeles International Airport, which is located about 3 nautical miles northeast of the accident site. The elevation of the observation station is 126 feet above sea level.

At 2050, a record surface observation was reporting in part: sky condition and ceiling measured 1,300 feet broken; visibility 7 statute miles; temperature 62 degrees Fahrenheit; dew point 59 degrees Fahrenheit; winds 200 degrees at 6 knots; altimeter 29.91 inHg.

In addition, at 2231, a special surface observation was reporting in part: sky condition and ceiling1,500 scattered; visibility 10 statute miles; temperature 61 degrees Fahrenheit; dew point 58 degrees Fahrenheit; winds 230 degrees at 4 knots; altimeter 29.94 inHg.

Airport and Ground Facilities

The Los Angeles International Airport is owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles. The published elevation of the airport 126 feet msl. The airport is a 14 CFR 139 Index D facility.

Runway 25L is 11,096 feet long by 200 feet wide, and is equipped with high intensity runway lights, centerline lights, and a category II configuration high intensity approach lighting system. Review of the FAA daily record of facility operation revealed there were no reports of difficulties with runway 25L lighting systems at the time of the accident.

The airport is served by a Terminal Radar Service Area, and the tower cab is equipped with a BRITE radar repeater display. The BRITE System is designed to display primary and secondary (transponder) radar returns of aircraft and alphanumeric target symbology generated by the Automatic Radar Terminal System (ARTS) to positions in the ATC tower. The equipment is specifically intended to present a usable visual display in the tower of the traffic inbound/o