Cessna 310 ditches in the Ocean 13mi short | FerrariChat

Cessna 310 ditches in the Ocean 13mi short

Discussion in 'Aviation Chat' started by normv, Oct 8, 2011.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. normv

    normv F1 Rookie

    Joined:
    May 3, 2005
    Messages:
    2,767
    Location:
    Mishawaka In
    Full Name:
    Norm
    normv, Oct 8, 2011
    #1
  2. toggie

    toggie F1 World Champ Owner Silver Subscribed

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2003
    Messages:
    19,036
    Location:
    Virginia
    Full Name:
    Toggie (Ron)
    Do you think just poor planning on fuel consumption or maybe unexpectedly strong headwinds?

    .
     
    toggie, Oct 8, 2011
    #2
  3. beast

    beast F1 World Champ

    Joined:
    May 31, 2003
    Messages:
    11,479
    Location:
    Lewisville, TX
    Full Name:
    Rob Guess
    When I saw this thread this morning I was thinking it was an Airbus 310
     
    beast, Oct 8, 2011
    #3
  4. Simon^2

    Simon^2 F1 World Champ

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2005
    Messages:
    12,313
    Location:
    At Sea Level
    What's the range on a 310? I assume it must have had the wing tip aux fuel tanks.

    So Cal to hawaii in a 310 sounds a bit adventurous.
     
    Simon^2, Oct 8, 2011
    #4
  5. tritone

    tritone F1 Veteran Silver Subscribed

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2003
    Messages:
    7,203
    Location:
    On the Rock
    Full Name:
    James
    He must have had a strap-in bladder.
    i've flown a 310P and I sure don't recall having anywhere near that kind of range even with tip tanks....
     
    tritone, Oct 8, 2011
    #5
  6. normv

    normv F1 Rookie

    Joined:
    May 3, 2005
    Messages:
    2,767
    Location:
    Mishawaka In
    Full Name:
    Norm
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2011
    normv, Oct 8, 2011
    #6
  7. bspellerin

    bspellerin Formula Junior Silver Subscribed

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2011
    Messages:
    353
    Location:
    Hermon, Maine
    Full Name:
    Brian Pellerin
    Same thing happened on Magnum P.I. Season 3, episode 20 "Two birds of a Feather", landed right in RM's tidal pool.

    Check for lead bars under the seat.
     
    bspellerin, Oct 8, 2011
    #7
  8. CavalloRosso

    CavalloRosso Formula 3

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2007
    Messages:
    1,423
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA/Vail, CO
    Full Name:
    SVO
    CavalloRosso, Oct 8, 2011
    #8
  9. geffen365gtc/4

    geffen365gtc/4 Karting

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2005
    Messages:
    191
    Let's look at the rough numbers....California to Hawaii...2400 miles. Average cruise of a 310....200mph. Imagine taking off and very quickly all you see on the horizon is water....FOR 12 HOURS.....Then land appears.....and you fall into the water 13 miles short. That's a bad day.

    Geffen
     
    geffen365gtc/4, Oct 8, 2011
    #9
  10. Fastviper

    Fastviper F1 Rookie

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2003
    Messages:
    4,525
    Location:
    Texas
    Full Name:
    Dash
    I think a bad day would be when no one is following you in.
     
    Fastviper, Oct 8, 2011
    #10
  11. Chupacabra

    Chupacabra F1 Rookie Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2005
    Messages:
    3,529
    Location:
    Behind a drum kit
    Full Name:
    Mr. Chupacabra
    +1
     
    Chupacabra, Oct 9, 2011
    #11
  12. donv

    donv Two Time F1 World Champ Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2002
    Messages:
    26,119
    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Full Name:
    Don
    An airline pilot on another forum said this guy had been figuring he wouldn't make it for about the last 4 hours-- they were relaying for him.
     
    donv, Oct 9, 2011
    #12
  13. BlackonBlack

    BlackonBlack Formula Junior

    Joined:
    May 30, 2010
    Messages:
    355
    Location:
    Northeast
    Full Name:
    Ed
    +1

    Feel bad for owner. That's a nice plane. Nice landing, couldn't be better ( no wise cracks ) textbook perfect. Conditions looked pretty good too. Wings level so no kartwheeling, not into the waves, and retractable gear ( LG retracted ). Water landing in fixed gear planes are prone to flipping over....very disorienting.

    That 12 HOURS OVER WATER makes you think things over carefully!

    He must have done something like this before and was successful. Maybe over land involving the same distance and plane.
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2011
    BlackonBlack, Oct 9, 2011
    #13
  14. Juan-Manuel Fantango

    Juan-Manuel Fantango F1 World Champ Rossa Subscribed

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2004
    Messages:
    14,634
    Full Name:
    Juan
    Interesting...I just read he was delivering the plane for someone as a plane ferrying service and it was registered to a Mount Pleasant company. That's just across the bridge from Charleston, SC.
     
    Juan-Manuel Fantango, Oct 9, 2011
    #14
  15. donv

    donv Two Time F1 World Champ Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2002
    Messages:
    26,119
    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Full Name:
    Don
    He started out and turned around a couple of days before:

    https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N23BT/history/20111005/1530Z/KOAK/PHTO

    He was going to Australia, according to a cached version of the ferry company's website.

     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2011
    donv, Oct 9, 2011
    #15
  16. Bisonte

    Bisonte F1 Veteran Rossa Subscribed

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2007
    Messages:
    8,698
    Location:
    Northern Virginia
    Full Name:
    Greg
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2011
    Bisonte, Oct 9, 2011
    #16
  17. toggie

    toggie F1 World Champ Owner Silver Subscribed

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2003
    Messages:
    19,036
    Location:
    Virginia
    Full Name:
    Toggie (Ron)
    For 4 hours or more, he must have tried different altitudes looking for the best trade-off of headwind component vs. the affect of density altitude on fuel burn. He probably also tried different manifold pressure & RPM settings and aggressively leaning both engines trying to maximize his fuel endurance.

    I wonder if he toyed with the idea of shutting down one engine while trying to cruise on the other one? Probably a bad idea given the increased drag of flying with a single engine running.

    That's a long time to spend alone cursing at yourself for getting into such a situation.
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2011
    toggie, Oct 9, 2011
    #17
  18. BlackonBlack

    BlackonBlack Formula Junior

    Joined:
    May 30, 2010
    Messages:
    355
    Location:
    Northeast
    Full Name:
    Ed
    If his altitude was about 7000 ft higher, he probably would have made land (10-1 glideslope ), to the beach at least.
     
    BlackonBlack, Oct 13, 2011
    #18

Share This Page