Cessna 310R accident near Altoona, Pennsylvania, August 16, 1995
On August 16, 1995 at about 5:48 am local time, a Cessna 310R, registered N2640L, was destroyed in an accident near Altoona, Pennsylvania (Altoona airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
propagation of corrosion cracks in the right engine overboard exhaust stack and fatigue failure of the exhaust stack, which resulted in escape of hot/high velocity gases, in-flight fire, emergency descent, and subsequent collision with trees during an approach for a forced landing. Darkness and mountainous/hilly terrain were related factors.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 16, 1995 · about 5:48 am local time
- Place
- Altoona, Pennsylvania · Altoona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310R · all 310Rs on the register
- Registration
- N2640L · no longer on the register · serial 310R1677
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While flying at night, about 10,000 feet msl, the flight reported an engine problem, declared an emergency, and requested vectors to the nearest airport for landing. When queried, the pilot stated, '...we got a fire in the right engine.' While diverting, the pilot was unable to maintain altitude (level flight) until the airplane descended to about 1700 feet. The tops of ridges in the area were about 2500 to 2800 feet. Subsequently, about 15 miles from the alternate airport, the airplane hit trees during darkness at an elevation of about 1720 feet and crashed. Examination of the right engine revealed that the last 8 to 12 inches of the right overboard tube had separated circumferentially from the exhaust system. A metallurgical examination of the exhaust stack revealed evidence of fatigue; there were numerous hot gas corrosion cracks that had originated at the interior surface and had propagated through the wall thickness of the stack. There was evidence that a breach of the right exhaust stack allowed hot, high velocity gases to escape and initiate a fire. The Altoon weather was in part: 8,000' scattered, 3 miles visibility with fog and haze.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,400 hours in all; 250 in this make and model; 145 in the last 90 days; 69 in the last 30 days; 3,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,202 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 15, 1995; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-BB (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Voyager Aviation Croup
The flight
- Departed from: N95 Carlisle PA at 5:30 am
- Destination: DET Detroit MI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 am from AOO, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.