Cessna 310K accident near Brooksville, Florida, April 12, 2006
On April 12, 2006 at about 9:45 pm local time, a Cessna 310K, registered N6981L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Brooksville, Florida (Pilot Country Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The mechanic's improper maintenance that resulted in the right main landing gear's separation from the airplane and an inadvertent loss of control during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 12, 2006 · about 9:45 pm local time
- Place
- Brooksville, Florida · Pilot Country Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310K · all 310Ks on the register
- Registration
- N6981L · no longer on the register · serial 310K0081
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that during the landing rollout, the airplane pulled to the right, and he made a correction, but it continued to pull to the right. As the rollout progressed, he said the airplane continued to pull to the right, with him using full rudder deflection. The airplane departed the right side of the runway, into the grass, and impacted orange trees. An FAA inspector responded and conducted a postcrash examination of the airplane and found the airplane sitting on its left main landing gear and nose gear. The right main landing gear had separated from the airplane. The inspector further stated that upon examining the right main landing gear the he noted a discrepancy associated with the forward trunnion. He said that the forward and aft trunnions both have two u-bolts that hold the landing hear to the pivot points on the airplane, and the aft trunnion had both u-bolts and had the pivot piece firmly locked under the u-bolts. The inspector said that on the forward trunnion the aft u-bolt was in place but the forward u-bolt was missing, and the pivot piece was not under the aft u-bolt. During the course of the investigation, the pilot provided an excerpt from the airplane maintenance records showing that the airplane's right main landing gear had been recently repaired. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulate about 9 hours since landing gear maintenance had been performed.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,600 hours in all; 85 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 2,600 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,500 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Teledyne Continental IO-470 (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Teledyne Continental IO-470 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DKX Knoxville TN at 6:45 pm
- Destination: X05 Brooksville FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 3,700 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 11 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,000 ft; scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.17 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from TPA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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.