Accident Review Las Vegas C310R 

Dear Scott, There is even more to this tragic story. 400 feet southeast of the crash site are high voltage power lines on steel towers. The airplane was flying directly into these power lines. They are barely visible on your short video of the crash, but seen clearly on Google Maps street view at 4005 Raven Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89139, the site of the crash. The crash site was against the outside of the fence on the west side of the above property. In your video, the pilot appears to react to these power lines as they came into view by pulling back on the yoke. This cost him what little speed he had, with the inevitable results. I agree with you that by making several bad choices throughout this emergency, this pilot put himself into this dangerous situation with few options. May we all learn the important points you made in this presentation. Grasping them will undoubtably save lives. Thank you for your dedication to this channel. I love what you are doing. Please keep on keeping on.

I was good friends with the PIC of this accident airplane, Bob Golo since 1993. Had breakfast with him months before, we had to curtail that eating out due to the California COVID stuff. It was tough losing Bob Golo my friend (months after my cousin, she took her life, perhaps due to the COVID climate). Bob was a MEI, and had many hours training in the CFI mode, both in San Diego and Chicago. He was once an air traffic controller in Chicago. Of the many pilots I know, have employed and are friends with, Bob was one of the last ones I would think would make this cardinal sin error in flying. We are all vulnerable of course, and must avoid the traps. I appreciate Scott Perdue's analysis and it is worthy without early judgement on pilots. RIP, Bob Golo and his passenger.

As a commercial pilot I’ve declared two emergencies and never even had to make a phone call afterwards, don’t listen to anyone who tells you not too.

The way you described the importance of this pilot taking charge and realizing the magnitude of the situation is flat out on point sir!

This accident is super eerie to me. I took my Commercial-Multi checkride on Oct. 31, 2020, and my examiner was looking up the results of this crash to find out that it was one of his very good friends. Of course at that time there wasn't really any information on the crash, but my examiner's special focus was on 2 things: 1 Vmc conditions/ rollovers and 2. to never reduce power or give up altitude while having an inop engine unless you know you have a runway made. To watch this analysis makes those lessons very real.

Honest non-ego communication is vital to multiply the chance to survive!!! I have had the experience yrs ago of lossing a critical engine in a Beagle and survived with the guidance of ATC!!! Great analysis! Thank You!

Hi Scott I was a young Frenchman, when one day , taking of from Houston hobby airport TX , for a cargo flight to Dallas love field. I lost my brand new left engine ( only one day old) On the C 402 B. Within seconds passing 300 feet I lost that new engine. It stopped. They found out later that my crankshaft was broken in 3 pieces. I tried to control my airplane and very fast realised that I was full right rudder with 5 degrees bank to the right Which On the C 402 unusual. I watched in disbelief after doing my procedures , that the prop was not feathered. I initially declared with departure a pan pan call. I started to lose altitude slowly....around 200feet per minutes.my speed decayed fast and then my nose attitude increased.even with full power and nearly full aileron and rudder to the right. That night ( 2am) I new I was cooked.....until I remembered, 5 months earlier , one old guy in a flying school telling its story that sounded like what I was experiencing. He said he saved his life by lowering his gear , getting control of is plane back , and then putting it back up. That night , I did the same as I did not have any options...............it worked.I was able to regain control , increase my speed , using less and less rudder and then miraculously climbing again.I landed in Houston intercontinental, alive. I still do not understand how creating more drag saved my life that night .but It did never ever forgot that pilot. Cheers from the French alps America which I miss very much

I am currently a corporate pilot, but spent 29 years as a controller. In reality, 3 entities can declare an emergency: 1. The pilot. 2. ATC facility personnel. 3. Officials responsible for the operation of the aircraft. The pilot HAS to communicate that there is a problem! He should declare an emergency, but as is the case with human nature, most hesitate to do so. That leaves ATC, who if notified of the problem can handle the aircraft as an emergency and give it the priority it deserves. Remember the 4 C's. Climb, COMMUNICATE, CONFESS, and comply. You make excellent points Scott! Thanks for these important lessons learned videos.

Once that VMC roll starts, you have to reduce power on the operating engine, stomp the rudder to pick up the dipping wing, lower the nose, and prepare to flare onto whatever surface you are over.

I learn so much from your videos. Thank you for putting in the effort to produce these.

This pilot got in his own way, by being casual about one engine out, and by not declaring an emergency. Once you declare, the sky is yours, and ATC will do whatever it takes to help you get on the ground safely. I'd say that overconfidence caused this crash. First rule: Fly the plane, maintain control.

Amen Scott! Tragic story, I believe you are spot on with this review! May they Rest In Peace. 🙏🏼 Keep up the great work!

Another great analysis Scott. I think ego plays a big part in why some pilots do not declare an emergency.

Spot on sir, all pilots need to watch these videos and learn.

Great Job Scott. Im retired controller from Mccarren, the 220 heading for VGT deps is SOP to remain clear of LAS depts to the west. This turn put him in a direction away from a safe landing. The pilot may have limited his altitude to remain clear of the B. A simple emergency declaration would have completely resolved any B restrictions. The pilot should have landed at LAS rwy 19R after departing VGT 12R straight ahead to the Stratosphere then 19R. he would then be able to keep his altitude for safety. Never ever wait to declare an emergency, ATC is there to get you out of trouble if possible. ATC would have cleared all the runways asap! One other thing I heard from a pilot that was in the run-up area with the C310. he said the C310 was having problems with the run up. The C310 was in the run-up area 25-30 minutes trying to resolve the issues. He heard the engine issues while in that run -up area. Obviously it didn’t work out.

Pre-takeoff self brief for EVERY takeoff includes where you intend to put the thing in the event of an engine failure (total or partial) during or soon after takeoff. Also, while you can , once established in cruise, continue to fly a twin with one shut down, it does not constitute "ops normal", and the only consideration needs to be a safe conclusion of the flight. I know pilots have been fired for landing somewhere inconvenient with an engine problem, but who wants to fly for an operator who would do that? I still remember my own multi instructor driving that message home to just put it on the ground safely. Any other consideration is secondary.

I love your videos, Scott. Your presentations are thorough, thoughtful, analytical and well put together. Thank you, subscribed and will continue to watch your excellent videos.

Always learning from other people’s mistakes...as long as you understand what happened. Nicely explained, as usual. Well done, Scott. Regards from Belgium.

Excellent video - Once again! Keep ’em coming, I’ll be watching

well said! I had an engine failure in a fully loaded Max takeoff weight Cessna 402 B model on Charter. As any pilot who flies these knows, they do not perform well on one engine fully loaded. Fortunately for me and my pax ,I had a bit of altitude when the right engine failed. I feathered the prop, carried the dead engine 5 degrees, declared an emergency and returned to the Aerodrome. I started my descent late and arrived on final at 2000 feet agl all the time fully aware of staying well above my VMCA speed. This worked well by the time gear went down and 15 flap then 30 flap I hardly had to apply power to the good engine and landed safely. This was good experience for me as years later I had an engine fire in the left engine in command of an ATR 72 fully loaded with passengers and freight. After shut down auto feather, and activating the extinguisher, declaring emergency, diverting to nearest suitable aerodrome arriving on final at 2000 feet AGL, we landed safely with little power needed from the right engine.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge, I could listen to you talk aviation all day.

When your heart skips a beat and that first surge of adrenaline kicks in, time to call emergency.

Part 23 twin. "Always Leave Yourself an Out". Great document. Don't run out of rudder!

As always love your briefings. Even though I'm not a pilot I still feel like I've taken something away from it. Keep up the awesome work sir 👏

Good job explaining. I’m a owner and private pilot VFR. I’m always learning something, thanks for sharing.

Thanks Scott, a very spot on review. I'm an MEI and I teach in 310's. It's a wonderful airplane and I like it a lot. BUT, as with most multi engine airplanes, it will eat your lunch if you let it get to VMC close to the ground.

I really love the way you do these... Thanks for outstanding work, input to current pilots and very likely saving lives... Dave (retired airline pilot and CFI)

Scott, I always appreciate your thorough and methodical dissection of these accidents and incidents. I would add that it's refreshing to listen to someone who obviously is a truly professional aviator (not a "hacker"). As pilots we simply must be willing to learn from the mistakes of other pilots - your videos are a most helpful (and needed) resource in that regard. Please keep up the good work!

The reluctance to declare an emergency is astounding to me. That is certainly an emergency situation.

Brilliant presentation, thank you. Pilots pay attention to airmanship.

I was the man inside the trailer when the plane crashed. I was interviewed by an FAA official after the crash and told him that I thought it might have been a helicopter crash because I heard one engine operating at what appeared to me as full power, but I heard what I would identify as a slower propeller sound similar to a helicopter blade turning at a slower speed, then a thud, crash and explosion into my fence and the feel of the searing heat coming in to my office trailer window behind me. At the scene I showed the FAA inspector a lower faring from the right engine with oil spray on the inside. This piece of the plane escaped the fire, but not the crash. The inspector identified the right engine had no oil cap but the left engine had its cap. The plane may have been inverted upon impact and the engine location may have been difficult to determine at that time.

Another excellent analysis Scott! As in so many things....mindset is the most important 'skill' you can possess and your videos demonstrate this effectively. I hope lots of people learn from others mistakes because sadly there are many that you don't get to learn from if you don't survive. I had seen the other video about this accident and had some questions...which you just answered. Thanks again.

I had looked into this accident earlier, you’ve added a lot of information and food for thought (and practice) in my flying.

Your videos are great teaching material. Thank you for the time you spend doing these analysis'.

Another outstanding analysis Scott!

Scott, of all the aviation channels on RU-vid I truly appreciate what you bring to the community. I find myself utilizing a lot of your tips and lessons during my flights with my family. I do things now that are new to my copilot (my wife) who has been flying with me for a long time and her regular comment to me is, "did you learn that from Scott?" As a relatively new Bonanza owner I value your content. Please keep up the good work and I look forward to future videos. Thank you!

There were certainly a lot of baffling decisions that led to this nightmare accident. Thanks for a fine analysis.

I never realized that it’s so hard to gain altitude with only one engine on a twin! This is a VERY important lesson to be learned! As you said, keep your altitude as long as possible.

Scott, I could honestly listen to you talk for days. Your tone and delivery is so easy to listen to. These videos are very well done sir. Safe flying.

Another homerun Scott!!!! I really appreciate your excellent analysis.

I listened to this on VAS Aviation before your video. I remembered thinking how calm this guy is while having engine problems.

So sad that this happened,thanks for breaking this down.

I just found this channel. I have always loved flying but was never able to a pilots license. Love the analysis of this event. I am always in awe of your analytical break downs from you and from the pilots in comments.

Another great educational video Scott.

Thanks, another great analysis!

Such great analysis. Thanks!

I am very glad to have come across your video today. As an aspiring aviation enthusiast I found your analysis of this accident very valuable. I’m terribly sorry for the loss of the two lives where the outcome could’ve been so different. I would feel very comfortable flying with you in that beautiful Bonanza after listening to your reasoning and your calm explanation of the events leading up to this tragedy. You have a new subscriber Sir.

He used to fly a lot from KNZY..KNUC, KSEE..KNUC and F70..KNUC. When I saw the the c/s in the Title and I heard his voice, I knew it was the same pilot. Sad news. RIP.

I love your channel. The Cessna 310, is about my favorite looking twin (aesthetically).

Great video! You are saving peoples lives! Keep it up - Blessings - Adam

Another excellent program, and again in simply understandable terms. So many times very successful people, who are used to easily overcoming challenges, end up....

Man I appreciate your videos. Can’t say it enough.

When I was a new pilot a seasoned veteran shared a little gallows humor, " when you lose an engine in a light twin the good engine will carry you right to the point of impact!'

Not sure if my other post came through. i would love to see an accident view of the cessna 210 crash that you can see in the video "Final seconds of our PLANE CRASH *caught on camera"... there are a TON of great talking points that come up from that video. Thanks for the content, this is one of the very best aviation channels on youtube.

Thanks for linking Dan Gryder's AQP via Flowers, and thanks much for all your time and effort here! If it saves 1 life it's worth it! This one was such a sad situation... you said it well. JMHO.. --gary

Spent many years in the front and back seats of your Phantoms; alas, I wasn't flying, just maintaining the radar, hud and missile stations. Watching this video caused me to reflect on my time flying in and out of McCarran. I had passionately wanted to fly when I was training at NAS Memphis but a young poor enlisted guy with a child couldn't afford it. Years later, my daily flights back and forth from McCarran to Area 51 in the '80s cured me from wanting to fly or even wanting to step on an airplane. Several incidents stick in my memory: the pilot on one of the 737s we normally flew in told us that we had a hydraulic failure (anyone who has been around a Phantom can relate) and he was going to "slam dunk" it into McCarran. One very windy Sunday afternoon we were over the runway at McCarran in a King Air and I was sitting on window seat over the wing; when the aircraft suddenly rolled 90 degrees I was looking straight down at pavement. I was unusually unruffled, knowing we surely had an ex-fighter pilot at the controls -- he did roll out to level and we landed without further incident. Neither of those incidents scared me from flying, rather it was the 2-a-days in and out of McCarran that burned me out from wanting to fly again in any capacity.

IMO, don't assume you just lost an engine for some simple isolated reason. Assume something like fuel contamination and make an immediate safe landing as if that other engine is just waiting to go out on you.

Excellent! Thank you. It is always easy as 0kts on the couch and make a judgement but these videos give an excellent path to a better outcome than this tragedy.

These came up in my recommendations. Great videos and very informative.

Not wanting to seem inconsiderate to the living but every time I start to watch one of these accident videos I first think of the aircraft and its history. The decades it was flown. All the wonderful experiences people enjoyed in them. The great memories. Etc.

Unfortunate to say the least, however I couldn't stop looking at the beautiful Bonanza in the background

Wow I can’t believe that I recognized old Capt. Perdue from the 1st TFTS, Tyndall AFB. It has been 30 years.

Great Video, Thanks Scott

Great as always thanks for the analysis

"No way to add energy back into the airplane" That's good and I'm going to use that. My favorite saying about what we do as pilots is we mitigate risk and manage energy.

Wow! My Girlfriend told me about this crash the day it happened. I didn’t follow after the early details and discovered from this video this was an old dear friend of mine. I knew the tail number because I’ve flown in this plane many times and simply thought maybe my friend sold it. Clearly not the case, Sadly! To hear his voice and see the clip is chilling! But, Scott you are spot on and I can only scratch my head. Bob was a high time pilot and I helped him many times at his business years ago. Always professional and always Extra safe from my experience. I have time in several aircraft in his fleet including this one. I’ve lived in Vegas for three years now and this is no way to reconnect with an old friend. Rest In Peace and Blue Skies Bob!!

I've watched several of your youtube video's before finally clicking the SUSCRIBE button....this was a tragic story & video but thanks for the lesson....received my PPL in 1977 and still love flying....it's mostly pattern work now on perfectly clear, beautiful days....but I'm still "up there", in control and loving every minute of it...thanks again!

Going into Henderson tower always asks, “Are you familiar with Black Mountain?” Because it’s in the way and easy to think you can descend earlier. Very hard to stay under bravo. Almost for sure you are right, descent started too soon. Also, in my T210 departing Henderson I lost oil pressure when starting my climb east of the bravo. I didn’t declare to avoid alarming passenger. It was 32 miles to Kingman and I safely made it there maintaining the 10,500 I had until runway was made. Bad decision on my part not to declare and I literally have a mayday radio call in mind all the time today. My fellow GA pilots, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM DECLARE! It nay save your life. Thanks for a helpful video

I think he may have forgot one of the cardinal rules, Murphy's Law. "If something can go wrong it will and at the worst possible time." If the second engine was failing, Murphy had arrived on cue. For that reason in any power loss situation the option should always be to land at the nearest airport, irrelevant of any other consideration. His was not the first time that a delay in the decision to land a stricken aircraft results in a fatal crash. Great analysis very eloquently and accurately presented. Many lessons in that.

Awesome info Scott. I'dlove to hang out with you and just hanger talk....

Not nick picking but he was such an experienced pilot and yet watched the airspeed get lower and lower. He knew what must come “VMC” yet let it happen. I hate these why, why, why accidents. Thanks Scott, another great one.

Great review and analysis Scott. Always enjoy your analysis. Hoping you do a review of the recent Bonanza accidents in Virginia and Alabama.

I really like your analysis of this and other events you talk about. I'm a non-pilot aviation enthusiast.

I love this channel. Always come away with something to make me a better pilot.

I watched this video again after seeing the NTSB of what happened. I am not a pilot but I have watched several of your and other's videos and am amazed of the number of highly experienced pilots that make fatal mistakes when they probably know better. I have an old friend that I talk to about these crashes at the coffee shop in the mornings. He was an Air Force and Braniff pilot and he talks of the friends he's lost over the years that have died in crashes in the civil aviation world several in old warbirds, like P51s, when they were trying to do things the planes couldn't. He says they had too much testosterone and paid the price. Thanks for your videos, I'm sure they have saved some lives.

Well explained, with lots of good advice. Some of it is basic piloting reminders and some of it is just plain common sense. But always good to be reminded -- especially when accompanied by an analysis where a pilot who didn't heed these things paid with his life. Hate to hear it but it makes us safer. RIP to the two who died.

It’s easy to play armchair quarterback, and obviously I wasn’t there in the airplane, but I’m thinking I would have declared a gone to KLAS. My heart goes out to the families and loved ones. Very informative video, great job. SteveD328, 23,000 hr ATP

I worked the flight line at San Clemente Island. He was one of the few air charters with approval to land there so I knew him and have watched him make several bad decisions including landing with weather below minimums, landing when the field was closed coming close to maintainers working on the arresting gear and damaging the leading edge of his wing by hitting a fire bottle and took off with no inspection. However tragic, it seems there was a trend there

Love your intro, retired F-4 and current F-15 Crew Chief.

Scott great video!! Thanks

Trading speed for altitude until the laws of physics catches up...Great words !

I used to own a 310H. As long as you kept your speed above VMCa, the airplane flew beautiful on one engine. Even doing VMC demo training was unremarkable. I miss that airplane but I don't miss paying for 130 gallons of Avgas.

great video Scott

Love your work,videos and channel 😁😉👍✈🦅Thanks F-15 Captain 😮😁😉

Excellent analysis for a very tragic accident. Thank you.

I talked to a guy at north LV, he said before take off they were having fuel valve issues

Thank you for your link to Josh FLowers Aviation 101 site for AQP in, Pt 135, and 91 operations. Dan Gryler has done a wonderful job with tons of effort to get this idea of advance recurrent training to the aviation community. As operations guy at Martin Air Field S-95 this is a subject close to my heart. We had a non-injury crash at our airport this summer with a stal-spin during a touch and go.

Great thoughts, and explanation.

From wings level shallow decent to instant snap roll. Wow that was quick. We always practice recovery, but at altitude. Boy, that was quick. Sickening.

Scott, I had a similar situation with a different outcome. My best friend had over 3000 hours in a 340 and started flying a 310 for hire from a flight school out here. He let me come along and do all the flying, he then convinced me to get my multi comm inst ticket so I did. After that we continued to fly together, I only had about 60hours multi at that point. I was very afraid of VMc and we had a flight for hire one day, 2 passengers in the back. I took off of an 11,500ft runway to the south, blue line (VYse) + 10 off the ground and blue line + 20 cruise climb. We were climbing fast that day (1700fpm), my flight was to go north after taking off to the south. At my crosswind turn I was 1200 agl and lost the right engine. My friend was pilot monitoring and handling radios. Before I even said hey we lost the engine he keyed the mic “Mayday Mayday Mayday .....” i thought wow that was fast. I stopped the climb and went through memory items and had prop feathered, then said I have the interstate (which was right under us with no need to turn) if we need it, but I was already in downwind for the south runway. He said maintain what you have (alt) until turning final if you can. Well I could easily, speed was increasing slowly in level flight to about 140. He said in an emergency we tell the controllers “ME FIRST” they get paid to deal with everything else. I turned final at 1200 agl, our runway is 11,500 so I had plenty of runway. I pulled the power off got the rudders back to normal (for single engine pilots, even if you have the prop feathered there is still rudder correction and it is very strange when you bring the power out, it is all reverse rudder) and just glided down while putting gear back down and 1 notch of flaps. I flew down at 110 to the numbers and just held it off, just like normal landing. Everything was a non event except all the firetrucks, lol. But there was no way in the world I was getting even close to red line (VMc), I would land anywhere first. My friend taught me that as pilot monitoring getting on the radio is something you do immediately, not something you think about and if I would have been by myself, you fly the airplane first just as if you declared emergency, talk last. If they see you coming back even though you have not said a word, they know something is not right. Who cares about FAA paperwork at that point. You want to live and provide safety for your passengers. Funny thing after we landed the passengers didn't really know what happened. Their audio was isolated from ours at that time. I am very afraid of red line, that is like play Russian roulette with the cylinder fully loaded. It is sure death to me. Anyway a real non event and I was glad he was there, sitting back chewing on a tooth pick acting as if it was just another training flight for me. Totally relaxed, I got to see how a real pilot handles things. I only have 1100 hours and only 100ish multi. I am learning all the time, I have so much to learn. Love your channel, 310 pilot and Baron Pilot. I am very humbled flying a twin and I absolutely love it. When I retire, I will be getting a P58. I was asked one time if I would take a flight for hire in that 310 by myself cause my friend was busy. I said “NO”. For me, I was not ready. Flying twins like going from high school football to NFL. Huge learning curve. Can be done but you have to sit on the bench for a while. Thanks for the video again.

Thank you for all this inf.

Excellent analysis.

In my flight training, I was never “trained” on specific criteria when to declare an emergency and we never practice doing it. Maybe in the spirit of AQP, we need to have some, thought about ahead of time, criteria for what is an emergency and practice declaring one. For example, one of my personal criteria is that if I can’t maintain VFR minimums on a VFR flight, it’s an emergency.

An experienced pilot might think "I can handle this, I'll look like a noob if I declare an emergency".

Great job Scott

This was a well thought-out video going over the situation that the pilot found themselves in, and why their decisions ultimately made the situation worse. As with most accidents, it's a chain of events and decisions, not one single event.

I am not a pilot, but is seems that too many times in these crashes, the pilot does not declare an emergency, as if they feel they don’t need to. In my opinion, better to declare the emergency and live to fly another day.

We'll never know what the pilots thoughts were, but imagine he just mastered the most dangerous time period in a twin: engine failure shortly after take off! He gained altitude and now what are the options.When I saw this first on VAS I couldn't believe that he didn't land at the Bravo straight in. RIP

That line in the before-departure checklist that calls out a copilot and passenger briefing is important even if you are the only person on board. It is always about what do we do if the engine quits, or if any other problem occurs during flight. Plus it isn’t a bad idea to talk about where we are going and approx for how long.

Read a story in flying magazine in about 1967 about a 310 in the mountains, lost an engine and could not climb over a ridge so he lowered the nose to look for a good place to land and he gained 20 kt and the plane started to climb so he went back to an airport.