Pilot Reported Smelling Smoke The Day Before Fatal
Crash
A pre-existing
electrical problem may have contributed to the July 2007 fatal
crash of a Cessna 310R near Sanford, FL, based information
contained in an updated factual report issued Friday by the
National Transportation Safety Board.
WESH-2 reports the NTSB notes the aircraft's onboard weather
radar failed on a flight the day before the July 10 accident
flight, with the smell of electrical components burning present.
That smell disappeared when the pilot turned off the inoperative
radar, according to a maintenance log found in the wreckage.
The following morning, the pilot of the accident flight was told
about the problem, and replied he "didn't care about the radar" as
the short trip from Daytona Beach to Lakeland, FL was to be
conducted under VFR conditions.
As ANN reported, the
NASCAR-operated C-310R impacted in a neighborhood two miles north
of Orlando-Sanford International (SFB) within minutes after one of
the two pilots onboard declared an emergency, due to smoke in the
cockpit. Five people were killed in the crash, including Dr. Bill
Kennedy, the husband of NASCAR official Lesa France Kennedy; and
Michael Klemm, a senior captain with NASCAR Aviation. The impact
also claimed two adults and small child on the ground, and injured
three others.
Investigators aren't sure who was flying pilot at the time of
the crash. Klemm, 56, carried an ATP rating and was described as
"highly qualified" by officials, with "exceptional" proficiency in
the C-310. Kennedy's skills, however, were described as "weak" in a
flight review -- but the NTSB added Kennedy was counseled after
that determination, and his instructor later said the 54-year-old's
piloting prowess had "really improved."
Regardless of which man was at the controls, the NTSB factual
report paints a nightmarish picture of dense smoke filling the
cabin, that even the most seasoned pilot may not have been able to
manage. The NTSB said the last radio transmission from the accident
aircraft was cut off in mid-sentence, and included the phrase "shut
off all radios."
The NTSB did not determine a probable cause in its report -- but
NASCAR officials responded the "probable cause of this incident was
an electrical fire which began within three and four minutes before
the aircraft crash," further postulating the "fire ignited in
electrical wiring which would have been installed behind the
aircraft instrument panel by the aircraft manufacturer upon
original manufacture of the aircraft in 1977."
NASCAR added the two pilots onboard handled the situation
properly, by "removing electrical power from the electrical system,
immediately declaring an emergency and by immediately diverting to
an airport approximately three minutes away for landing" -- but
that they were likely overcome by toxic fumes.
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