What caused this Cessna 310b to crash at my local airport?
As some of you may know, two weeks ago a Cessna 310b crashed while taking off from a small, one-runway airport in Columbia, California, a small town near the base of the Sierra Nevadas. All four on board died in a resulting fire.
I'm a reporter at that town's local newspaper, the Union Democrat, and our paper was the first to report on the crash and the deaths. Coverage from the Associated Press and CBS Sacramento soon followed.
Can any experienced pilots or mechanics here weigh in on typical or likely explanations for such a crash -- or at least factors that would have proved crucial?
The National Traffic Safety Board has since concluded its week-long investigation -- but it isn't likely to release its report on what it believes caused the crash for another 6-8 months. Its next step is to ship the plane's two engines to their manufacturer, Continental Motors, in Alabama for further inspection.
What we know is as follows: Shortly after 4 p.m. on July 24, a 1959 Cessna 310b, with four people onboard, veered from the airport's only paved runway (runway 17) while attempting to take off. (Initial reports said it was landing.) By the time authorities arrived, the plane was engulfed in flames and lay on its belly in a patch of low grass some two or three dozen yards east of the runway. It came to rest roughly parallel with or just beyond the point on the runway where a plane of that size typically rotates.
The four victims -- two roughly middle-aged couples -- were burned so badly that forensic identification required examining dental records.
Conditions were good. It was a near-cloudless day with normal wind conditions.
The pilot, Dan Kreutzfeldt, was a 43-year-old experienced career transport pilot with NetJets.
Thanks for your insights. I am not asking for speculation, but for typical causes of crashes resembling the one here.
Scott Carpenter