Cessna 310C accident near Cedar City, Utah, March 22, 2000
On March 22, 2000 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Cessna 310C, registered N3311H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cedar City, Utah. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the right engine mixture control cable, which prevented the pilot from restarting the engine. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to follow procedures by not feathering the right propeller, the rough terrain, and the high vegetation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 22, 2000 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Cedar City, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310C · all 310Cs on the register
- Registration
- N3311H · registry record · serial 35835
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor said that he shut down the right engine to practice single engine flight. Attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful (it was later determined that the mixture control cable had failed). The pilot did not feather the right engine, and he reported that the left engine was providing insufficient power to maintain flight. The flight instructor performed a gear down landing in the rough, brush covered desert. The owner of the airplane said that the practice engine shut down was performed at 9,500 feet mean sea level, or approximately 3,800 feet above the terrain. He said that the practice maneuver was not initiated over a landing airfield, but that two were available within 5 miles of this location. The airplane's Owner's Manual performance section indicates that the single engine best rate of climb would be from 50 feet per minute to 250 feet per minute, depending on altitude and outside air temperature. A manufacturer's representative said that a non-feathered propeller would reduce the rate of climb by approximately 400 feet per minute, and landing gear extended would reduce it an additional 300 feet per minute.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 847 hours in all; 39 in this make and model; 231 in the last 90 days; 133 in the last 30 days; 796 as pilot in command; 353 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 4,830 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CDC at 10:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from CDC, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DEN00LA066.