WICHITA, KS, USA
N310PB
Cessna 310R
The pilot received reported winds of 050 to 070 degrees at 21 knots gusting to 28 knots during the approach. He reported that he '...evaluated the crosswind and determined that it was much less than expected.' At an altitude of 20 to 25 feet above the runway, the airplane '...abruptly dropped...resulting in a high bounce, another hard touchdown, with resulting bounce.' On the third touchdown the airplane remained on the runway where it groundlooped coming to rest off the runway. Maximum demonstrated crosswind component for the Cessna 310R is 19 knots. Given conditions would have produced a 16 to 26 knot crosswind.
On October 31, 1998, at 1923 central standard time, a Cessna 310R, N310PB, operated by a private pilot collided with the terrain following a loss of control while landing on runway 36 (6,100' x 100') at the Jabara Airport, Wichita, Kansas. The pilot and five passengers were not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions on an IFR flight plan. The flight originated from Lincoln, Nebraska, at 1800 cst. The pilot reported that during the approach he received the automated weather broadcast which was reporting the wind to be from 050 to 070 degrees at 21 knots gusting to 28 knots. He continued to report that during the landing approach "...evaluated the crosswind and determined that it was much less than expected. In addition, I did not experience the turbulence one would anticipate with reported conditions." The pilot reported that at an altitude of 20 to 25 feet above the runway, the airplane "...abruptly dropped...resulting in a high bounce, another hard touchdown, with resulting bounce." He reported that on the third touchdown the airplane remained on the ground, but it was pointed in a northeasterly direction. He stated the airplane groundlooped and came to rest on a northerly heading off the side of the runway. According to the Cessna 310R Pilot's Operating Handbook, the Maximum Demonstrated Crosswind Velocity is 19 knots. Using the crosswind component chart in the same handbook and the wind condition reported to the pilot, the wind component perpendicular to the runway would have varied between approximately 16 and 26 knots.
the pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions and the inadequate recovery from the bounced landing which resulted in a loss of control and the ground loop. Factors associated with the accident were the pilot's misjudging the winds conditions and the gusty crosswind.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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