N6861T

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On April 17, 2003, at 1739 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 310D, N6861T, registered to Smith & Barlow Enterprises, Inc., and operated by Advantage Aviation, Inc., both of Provo, Utah, impacted terrain 1.07 miles north of the Provo Municipal Airport, Provo, Utah. Three commercially certificated flight instructors were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the instructional flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Provo approximately 1600.

According to the operator, 19.0 gallons of 100-LL fuel were used to fill the airplane's main fuel tanks to capacity (50 gallons each tank, 100 gallons total useable) at the end of the day before the accident. The auxiliary fuel tanks had been inoperative for some time, and the fuel gauges and fuel filler caps had been placarded accordingly. The next day, the airplane flew once before the accident flight. The instructor on that flight said he visually "checked the main tanks and confirmed that the airplane was topped off with fuel." He did not check the auxiliary fuel tanks. The flight departed shortly after 1400. According to the flight instructor, he and his student and an observer (the observer was also the observer on the accident flight) flew for 1.6 hours, and performed a simulated right engine failure and subsequent rejected takeoff, several other simulated engine failures, and a complete right engine shutdown. They also made three takeoffs and landings. The instructor said that at the conclusion of the flight, he verified the fuel quantity. The tanks were half-full. The airplane was released to the accident pilot approximately 1630.

According to the operator, the accident flight departed Provo approximately 1600 and was aloft for approximately 1.7 hours. It, too, was an instructional flight. The pilot-in-command, identified as being in the right front seat, was giving multiengine instructor training to the pilot-in-training, identified as being in the left front seat. The other flight instructor, seated on a rear bench seat, was observing. The operator (which is also the fixed base operator at Provo Municipal Airport), routinely tape-recorded the airport's Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF). The recorder was voice-activated and had no time channel. According to the tape recording and transcript, approximately 1730 the pilot reported they were "descending south of the airport. We'll be entering [a] left downwind [for] runway one eight, flying single engine pattern. Correction, right downwind." In the next transmission, he reported they were "on a right downwind one eight behind three eight hotel. We're going to be breaking off to the west, Provo." Shortly thereafter, the pilot called "three hotel this is six (unintelligible) yo we're inside of you. Can we get priority to the runway? We've got a difficulty." The pilot of N5338H agreed to yield and extended his downwind leg. The pilot on N6861T thanked him. This was the last transmission from the airplane.

Twenty-seven written witness statements were collected by the Provo Police Department, Utah County Sheriff's Office, and the Utah State Patrol. Although there were variances, the consensus was that the airplane made a steep right turn from base leg to final approach, and then it descended vertically to the ground, exploded on impact, and burned. The captain of Executive Jet flight 93, who was waiting for N6861T to land so that he could take off on (the opposite) runway 36, said the airplane "appeared to do a snap roll to the right." Witnesses said that they thought the airplane was doing "trick maneuvers" (2). The airplane was at low altitude (4) and flying slow (1), when it made a sharp (4), steep (1), or severe (1) bank to the right (3) or left (4) and descended vertically (13) to the ground. The airplane was spinning (4), "twisting" (1), "swaying back and forth" (1), or spiraling (1). Some witnesses said it sounded as if the airplane was having engine trouble (1), because the engine were "sputtering" (3), and "cutting out" (2), like they "ran out of gas" (1), then the engines stopped (2), or the engine noise decreased in volume (1). The first 9-1-1 call was received by the Utah County Sheriff's Office at 1739.

The accident occurred during day visual meteorological conditions at a location of 40 degrees, 14.494 minutes north latitude, and 111 degrees, 43.072 minutes west longitude, or 1.07 miles from the threshold of runway 18. Bearing from the runway was 006 degrees magnetic.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot-in-command, age 47, held a commercial pilot certificate, dated April 30, 2002, with airplane single/multiengine land and instrument ratings. He also held a flight instructor certificate, dated March 4, 2002, with airplane single/multiengine and instrument ratings. His first class airman medical certificate, dated March 12, 2003, contained the limitation, "Must wear corrective lenses."

Two logbooks belonging to the pilot-in-command were recovered from the wreckage and examined. The first logbook contained entries from December 23, 1999, to April 3, 2003. The second logbook contained entries from April 3, 2003, to April 12, 2003. According to these logbooks, he had accumulated the following flight time (in hours):

Total time: 863.8

Pilot-in-command: 731.4

Airplane single-engine land: 622.9

Airplane multiengine land: 241.9

Cessna 310: 142.7

Instruction given: 354.2

Instruction received: 279.2

Cross-country: 309.4

Night: 97.5

Actual instruments: 32.6

Simulated instruments: 91.2

According to the logbooks, the pilot-in-command first flew a Cessna 310 on January 24, 2002, and first flew N6861T on November 20, 2002. His last recorded flight in a Cessna 310 (and in N6861T) was on July 9, 2002.

The pilot-in-training, age 32, held a commercial pilot certificate, dated July 9, 2002, with airplane single/multiengine land and instrument ratings. He also held a flight instructor certificate, dated October 2, 2002, with airplane single-engine and instrument ratings. At the time of the accident, he was working on the multiengine instructor rating. His second class airman medical certificate, dated March 18, 2002, contained no limitations or restrictions. According to his application for this medical certificate, he estimated he had logged 300 hours total flight time, 70 hours of which were accrued within the previous 6 months.

The pilot-observer, age 42, held a commercial pilot certificate, dated May 4, 2002, with airplane single/multiengine land and instrument ratings. He also held a flight instructor certificate, dated June 12, 2002, with airplane single-engine and instrument ratings. At the time of the accident, he was working on the multiengine instructor rating, and was observing to gain additional insight. His second class airman medical certificate, dated January 15, 2003, contained the restriction, "Must wear corrective lenses." According to his application for this medical certificate, he estimated he had logged 580 hours total flight time, 200 hours of which were accrued within the previous 6 months.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

N6861T (s/n 39161), a model 310D, was manufactured by the Cessna Aircraft Company in 1960. It was powered by two Continental IO-470-D engines (s/n CS105533-R, left; 79764-1-D, right), each rated at 260 horsepower, driving two Hartzell 3-blade, all-metal, constant speed, full-feathering propellers (m/n HC-A2VF-2B).

According to the aircraft's maintenance records, the airplane received an annual inspection on December 20, 1994, at a Hobbs meter reading of 4,230.0 hours. The next logbook entry was 5 years later, on December 10, 1999, when the airplane was certified as airworthy to be ferried from Richfield, Utah, to Provo. The Hobbs meter reading was 4,232.5 hours. The next annual inspection was fifteen months later, on March 15, 2001, at a tachometer reading of 4,256.2 hours. During that period, considerable work was done to the airplane, including changing the MINIMUM SPEED placard from 84 knots to 83 knots, and installing a TAKE OFF AND LAND WITH AUX PUMP ON placard on the instrument panel. The last annual inspection recorded in the maintenance records was on November 6, 2002, at a Hobbs meter reading of 4,256.2 hours.

On December 1, 1999, the left engine was removed from the airplane for a major overhaul, and was reinstalled on April 13, 2000, at a tachometer reading of 4,236.4 hours. On October 15, 2000, the left engine, which had been "damaged" due to "oil contamination," was removed for repair that included installing a serviceable crankcase, crankshaft, 6 connecting rods, and 2 chrome cylinder stud assemblies. The engine was reinstalled on the airplane on December 20, 2000. Total time and time-since-overhaul were not given. The engine was given 100-hour inspections on March 15, 2001, April 6, 2002, and November 6, 2002, the latter at a tachometer reading of 4,256.2 hours.

On April 15, 2000, the right engine was removed from the airplane for a major overhaul, and was reinstalled on April 24, 2000, at a tachometer reading of 4,240.8 hours. The last 100-hour inspection was on November 6, 2002, the latter at a tachometer reading of 4,256.2 hours.

The propeller maintenance log contained entries for work done on both propellers, but did not differentiate which propeller. On November 6, 2002, both propellers received 100-hour inspections.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The following was the PVU METAR (routine aviation meteorological report) that was observed at 1735: Wind, 220 degrees at 6 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles (or greater); sky condition, clear; temperature, 16 degrees C.; dew point, -1 degree C.; altimeter, 29.65 inches of mercury.

AERODROME INFORMATION

Provo Municipal Airport, elevation 4,497 feet msl, is located 2 miles southwest of the city of Provo. It is equipped with 2 runways: 13-31 and 18-36. At the time of the accident, runway 18 (6,937 ft...