Takeoff & Initial Climb · NTSB CEN22FA042
CESSNA T310R — Chadron, NE
| Date | November 22, 2021 |
| Location | Chadron, NE |
| Aircraft | CESSNA T310R |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Night/Dark · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Takeoff Loss of control in flight |
| Pilot age | 44 |
| Pilot total time | 502 hrs · Building experience |
| Time in type | 88 hrs |
| Fatalities | 3 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Physical-Impairment/incapacitation-Cardiovascular-Pilot
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
What happened
The pilot departed on a personal flight in dark night visual meteorological conditions. The airplane impacted terrain northwest of the airport about 30 seconds after departure. The distribution of the debris was consistent with a wings-level, slightly nose-down impact. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postimpact fire. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engines revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Although toxicology results revealed that the pilot was taking at least two medications (chlorpheniramine and dextromethorphan) that may have impaired his performance, the fact that the medication levels were unquantifiable indicated that their levels were too low for them to have had significantly impairing effects at the time of the accident.
According to the autopsy findings, the pilot was actively having a heart attack in the hours before the accident. This placed him at severely increased risk for acute impairment/incapacitation from chest pain, shortness of breath, feeling faint, or becoming unconscious. Any of these symptoms would have likely led to the low altitude loss of control identified in this crash. Therefore, the pilot’s ongoing myocardial infarction (heart attack) is the most likely cause of this accident.