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Accidents · NTSB ERA20LA132 · Final report

Cessna 310 accident near Charleston, South Carolina, March 21, 2020

On March 21, 2020 at about 10:59 pm local time, a 1964 Cessna 310, registered N8080M, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Charleston, South Carolina (Charleston Executive airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

The pilot’s fuel mismanagement during flight, resulting in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
March 21, 2020 · about 10:59 pm local time
Place
Charleston, South Carolina · Charleston Executive · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
1 person was killed.
Weather
visual conditions (good weather)
Aircraft
Cessna 310 I, built 1964 · all 310s on the register
Registration
N8080M · no longer on the register · serial 310I0080
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The pilot departed on a cross-country flight with both of the multiengine airplane’s main and auxiliary fuel tanks filled to capacity. Data recovered from an electronic flight instrumentation system (EFIS) showed that the airplane departed and climbed to cruise altitude. About 45 minutes into the flight, fuel ceased being drawn from the main fuel tanks and began being drawn from the auxiliary fuel tanks. This continued for about 30 minutes until the quantity of fuel in the auxiliary tanks was exhausted, as indicated by both the fuel quantity parameters for those tanks and the fuel flow parameters for both engines. About the time the engines began losing power, the pilot contacted air traffic control and was provided with radar vectors to the nearest airport. Witnesses who heard the airplane flying shortly before the accident described that the rpm of both engines were increasing and decreasing, as if the engines were being starved of fuel. The airplane subsequently impacted trees and terrain about ¼-mile from the runway at the diversion airport. Examination of the wreckage at the accident revealed that all four fuel tanks had sustained damage during the impact and that there was fuel on the ground beneath the wreckage. Additional examination of the airframe and both engines revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures, and that the fuel selectors for both engines were positioned to the auxiliary fuel tanks. Based on this information, and the recorded data, it is likely that the pilot departed on the accident flight with the main fuel tanks selected, and that about 45 minutes into the flight, transitioned the fuel selectors to the auxiliary fuel tanks. After the available supply of fuel in those tanks had been exhausted, the pilot failed to reselect the main fuel tanks. This resulted in fuel starvation to both engines and a subsequent total loss of engine power.

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

What happened, in order

  1. Fuel starvation during enroute (cruise) defining event

The NTSB's findings

  • Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Fuel planning › Pilot
  • Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid management

Pilot

  • Certificate: private
  • Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
  • Flight time: 2,950 hours in all
  • Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
  • Seat: left
  • Injury: fatal

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 4,522.2 hours
  • Last inspection: annual inspection, December 16, 2019
  • Maximum gross weight: 5,099 lb
  • Seats: 5
  • Landing gear: retractable
  • Engine 1: Continental IO-470 SERIES (piston); 4,522 hours total
  • Engine 2: Continental IO-470 SERIES (piston); 4,522 hours total

The flight

  • Departed from: RWI Rocky Mount NC at 9:30 pm
  • Destination: ZPH Zephyrhills FL
  • Flight plan: IFR
  • Runway 09, 5,350 ft by 100 ft

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Wind: from 210° at 9 knots, gusting 15
  • Visibility: 9 statute miles
  • Sky: broken clouds at 8,500 ft
  • Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
  • Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
  • Observation at 6:15 pm from KJZI, 1 miles away

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Flight crew1

Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report

13 documents, released by the NTSB on October 6, 2021. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.

The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.

Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.