Cessna 310 Safety Record

other maintenance personnel not installing nose landing gear door linkage. Factors were the unsecured landing gear door, the nose landing gear becoming jammed and the gear extension not possible by the pilot.

The pilot's continued operation of the aircraft with known deficiencies in the landing gear indicating system. A contributing factor to the accident was the pilot's expectation that the gear would be extended and locked irrespective of the indicator lights due to his prior experience with the malfunctioning indicator system.

The fuel leak due to improper installation of the left auxiliary fuel tank by maintenance personnel. Also, inadequate annual inspection of the airplane by maintenance personnel for failure to identify the missing screw from the adel clamp resulting in chafing of the positive battery cable. Also, operation of the airplane by the owner with known deficiencies in equipment.

the flight instructor's inadequate supervision by failing to ensure that the right throttle had been retarded before re-advancing the right mixture control, which resulted in a loss of directional control, an encounter with soft terrain, and damage to the nose gear. A related factor was that the student improperly performed the aborted takeoff procedure by failing to retard both throttles.

the pilot's failure to extend the landing gear for landing. Factors associated with the accident were: the crosswind, and the pilot not following his normal habit pattern of lowering the landing gear on base leg.

the pilot's failure to lower the landing gear and to properly align the airplane with the runway. Factors associated with the accident were: the inoperative gear warning, degraded aircraft performance, the pilot's diverted attention, the pilot's decision to perform a go-around, the snow bank and the runway which the airplane traveled across.

inadequate maintenance inspection of the landing gear system, following a prior incident, due to the mechanic's failure to follow the service manual instructions.

the pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions, and his failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll. Related factors were: the pilot's misunderstanding of the wind conditions, and the resultant quartering tail wind.

water/ice contamination in the fuel system and/or fuel filters due to failure of the maintenance facility that performed the annual inspection to identify and replace four cracked and deteriorated fuel filler cap O-rings. A factor in this accident was the pilot's failure to identify, and recognize the contamination hazard with, the cracked and deteriorated fuel filler cap O-rings during the preflight of the aircraft.

loss of total engine power due to fuel exhaustion for undetermined reason(s). The lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing was a related factor. The worn and leaking fuel system components and inadequate maintenance by unknown personnel were possible factors.

the failure of the pilot of the PA-32R, N1030Q, to obtain identification of the Cessna 310R, N1835E, visually, and his inadequate visual outlook. A factor was the failure of both pilots to hear communications from each other.