Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot stated that when the airplane descended below the tree line on final approach, there was a decrease in wind. He applied power to compensate for the change in the wind, and the airplane pitched up and stalled. The airplane then landed hard on the right main landing gear, and the right main landing gear collapsed.
Source record
Factual narrative
On January 14, 1996, about 1630 central standard time, a Cessna 310C, N700YA, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, experienced a hard landing at the Roy E. Wray Airport, Irvington, Alabama. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and two passengers reported no injuries. The flight originated from Mobile, Alabama, about 40 minutes before the accident. The Owners Manual for the Cessna 310C, Section 3, Operating Details, states at a gross weight of 4,830 pounds, gear down, 15- degree flap deflection, 0-degree angle of bank, the airplane will stall at 80 mph. With a 45-degree flap deflection, the airplane will stall at 74 mph. Review of weather information obtained from Mobile, Alabama, for the time period of the accident revealed no recorded record of turbulence, downdrafts, gusts, or windshear. -