Early Analysis: Cessna 310 Crash July 18, 2023 Santa Fe, NM 

Randy was an incredible person. So generous and kind. I loved him dearly as well as many others. Prayers for his family. He will be missed.

Got to ride with Randy on a C-47 with him as the pilot. Absolutely incredible human being and a man who loved what he did. RIP sir.

Richard RIP - You will be missed by thousands of us.

When Richard's on deck, I'm all ears. Thank You for the good reminders of what to prepare for given these circumstances.

RIP Richard McSpadden. You were one of the greats.

I was on the southern end of Santa Fe when the 310 went down, and saw the horrible black smoke. We have been having calculated 10,000+ density altitudes for weeks. It was HOT the morning of the accident. Santa Fe has been near all-time record heat this past week. Please be careful this summer. It is not worth the risk when it gets so hot at high altitude (6300ft field elevation).

RIP Richard... you were a great pilot, and an even better man. Fly high.

Light twins: 1.5 times the power, 2x the cost and mechanical issues, 3x the skill required. The point made in the video about accepting a glide to landing off airport in some scenarios can't be forgotten. Break the mindset that a twin always makes it to a runway. So many pilots accept gliding into a field in a single engine airplane with open arms, only to suddenly chuck that mentality out the storm window the moment they get in an airplane with two props. If you know you're pushing the limits of SE performance (High, hot, and/or heavy!) for your airplane, consider that second engine your ticket to a better glide ratio, not a guarantee you'll make it back to pavement.

The excellent commentary and analysis is very much appreciated. The outcome of this situation is truly terrible and tragic. Dr. Sherman was an ambassador to both the aviation and medical communities. Condolences to his family and may he RIP.

Outstanding anaysis - as usual. You are so informative yet respectful I can't applaud you enough

Great breakdown of the factors involved in this crash. I am not a pilot but I spent 4 years assigned to a KC-135 flight simulator as a maintenance tech in the USAF. Part of my job included daily pre-flighting the simulator to ensure all systems are operating correctly. Also, during simulated flights with actual crewmembers, my job was to observe the various training "missions" to detect any anomalies in the equipment that may need further attention. One of the most common simulated failures was having an outboard engine fail during rotation at takeoff. Too often, the pilot would step on the wrong rudder pedal to compensate for the severe differential thrust. Of course, that caused the simulator to simulate a loss of control and then simulate a crash. When that happened, the IP (instructor pilot) would become very angry with the crew. Whenever responding to an engine failure, over the years, I heard him say emphatically "step on the good engines" when referring to the rudder pedals and which rudder response is called for.

Rip Richard, I will miss these videos hosted by you :(

First off, condolences to the family. It does sound like he was a capable pilot as well as a surgeon, and there are four immediate takeaways or lessons learned to use today. First, know your density altitude and how to apply that to your s.e.l. Climb chart and if the number is too low for you, reduce the weight and/or leave at a cooler daylight time. Second, brief your departure and worst case emergency procedure to yourself before each departure (he had a nice clear area straight ahead. Third, know that emergency procedure (and practice it at recurrent training) by heart. You might not have time if you’re single pilot in a light twin to reference a checklist. But do use it when you get the “aviate” portion well under control. And fourth, RAISE THE DEAD engine that is. ALWAYS bank into the good engine. This pilot did not have quite yet the aviate portion in hand yet so there was really no need to talk to the tower, the controller was not going to help save the day and as a matter of fact contributed to the bad situation by saying he was cleared left turn back. I would not lhave been saying anything (except “oh shit” to myself) until I had the emergency under control. I loved that airplane, especially the turbo models as I flew 100s of hours flying freight in them at night, with only once having a partial engine failure, over a city.

I live about 35 miles south of Santa Fe at a field elevation of 6500' and to the pilots around here, summer is for annuals. We've got something like 300 vfr days per year, so we're not missing out.

Colonel McSpadden, Thank you for your analysis and professionalism. Paul (in MA)

No one wants to ditch an aircraft away from a regular runway but sometimes it's your best option.

Thanks for the analysis. Too bad there wasn't a better outcome.

I love the way you describe the issue in hand Not all of us are rocket scientist.

So sad to see this😢

Great point about accepting your off airport landing rather than augering in at 100kts+ still trying to climb. Sad and discouraging to see any pilot go down like this, but particularly one with this breadth of time and experience.

Excellent video. Gold standard of accident analysis.

As a light twin pilot my self, I can only hope that when (and if) I have a real engine failure my glider pilot instincts will keep me from trying to fly when the airplane is not. That’s the major survival factor in a light twin engine failure. Sometimes the operative engine will only fly you to the crash site.

This video is excellent! Thank you for the lesson!

A great clear and concise presentation. Thanks.

“Put all the odds in your favor.” - Barry Schiff

I love these analyses. I am not even a flight attendant. I believe these are great informative videos for any pilots to learn from.

Outstanding analysis. And really sorry for the loss. Blue skies ✈️

RIP Spad! 😪

Thank you for the informational video. Great reminders for all pilots

Thank you for the loud and clear reminder

Thank you sir for pointing out that sometimes the best option in this situation is to feather both engines and prepare the aircraft for an off-field landing such as on a road or highway.

Well done on the upgraded overview w/charts and aides.

As I commented under Blancolirio's video: "6400 maximum, then down to 6100, so the airport actually seems to sit higher than immediately surrounding terrain. Even if he feathered correctly, it's obvious that he was never gaining altitude, which was his plan (as per audio). I wonder if, after noticing that he wasn't gaining altitude, he tried to go for the highway. When I fly single engine I tend to always look for suitable field to land, while when I fly the Seminole (counter-rotating prop, so no critical engine) I tend to focus more on Vmc and proper procedure. But we need to remember that even in a twin, we need to look for suitable landing area in case of engine failure. Two months ago at KLAF (low altitude, 600ft) on simulated engine failure I could barely climb while keeping slightly above Vmc, even after simulating feathering 😮"

Can’t imagine a better person than Richard to help us all learn from and avoid these tragedies. Thank-you.

Thank you for the lesson.

great breakdown, and 100% agree with your final thought.

I don't fly planes but have watched scores of these uploads.It seems that many crashes of twin engine planes occur when the pilot tries to return to the airport with a quick U turn.I understand the get back on the ground as soon as possible but often it leads to disaster.

Excellent review. With such a failure merely flying the aircraft can absorb much of your brain power. Having to take one's hand off the controls to run through the engine failure sequence can be very demanding when you can hardly keep the aircraft under control. With the high D/A everything on the s/e checklist must be correctly and expeditiously completed or the aircraft simply will not perform. This is where recent/recurrent single engine failure proficiency is so important.

The quality content of this channel never ceases to amaze me.

Perhaps the pilot turned too soon before sorting out his plane. That checklist is rather daunting as well. Pilot was one busy person trying to handle everything. Got me. My condolences to his family. Wish this would've turned out better.

Richard, Thanks for the early analysis on these accidents realizing that everything is not known about the accident, but there are definitely lessons that can be learned while the accident is fresh in our minds.

With only 203 hours flying the CE-310 PIC I've done a lot of single engine work and have noticed sometimes that rocking/yawing sensation tendency at times more that usual especially when the plane is dirty ie flaps out, gear down, slow airspeed. I also have type ratings in the DC-3, B-17, with the special in the P-51 & P-47. so flying single engine in the 310 if you do it right will treat you just like having both so it'll be interesting to see what the NTSB report says next year or so. Sad day RIP Dr. Sherman

As I review this................. he should fly straight ahead as long as need be to get altitude..... then he would be fine.

Excellent presentation! Thanks.

I had a left engine failure right after take-off in a tired, old Piper Apache. Fortunately, being a short field, the gear was already retracted. It was a thrill a minute getting back to my home field, as that Apache would not climb over 900 feet MSL. What it did prove was that I was a better pilot than I thought.

Thanks for the indepth analysis Sir.. lesson learnt is on an engine failure just on lift off.. - counter the yaw - wings level - landing gears in - feather the inoperative engine - maintain single engine climb out speed - gain safe alt And then look for landing options Thankyou Sir

Thank you for the video

Miss your videos Richard . Fly high

Thanks for the insights.

May God comfort his family. My sincerest condolences. Thank you for your analysis.

Great video as usual, may he fly with angels now 😢

I tried this in the same plane in Microsoft Flight Simulator in the same conditions. I couldn't get a climb rate out of it on one engine at that density altitude, and I also crashed. More specifically, I failed the right engine just after take off. The plane struggled to stay level, in fact I couldn't maintain level flight. I rotated at 90 knots, and was about 100 feet above ground when the engine failed, and it just rolled right and crashed. I feel for this fellow. What bitch of a situation to find yourself. :(

Tragic but a solid reminder to do your density altitude calculations.

Thank you and great video as always ! 👍👍👍👍👍👍😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

"Don't fight it...accept it... deal with the best option you have available." That's a simple and yet wonderful piece of advice, and so logical. I think Richard McSpadden might be a Vulcan.

Good video, but please recheck the comment (7:28) that the SE climb performance is based on wings level climb. Normally the climb performance is based on climbing with a five degree bank into the good engine which reduces the sideslip and drag. Great comment on accepting what you have got if you are not climbing. If it happens before the gear is up, think as a friend said "well I just sold the aircraft to the insurance company" power off both sides and go for the straight ahead off field landing.

Freaky to think that just 3 months after posting this video, the man, the legend himself would die in near identical circumstances. Rip. Richard McSpadden. "I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one. I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done."

Great analysis. This pilot seemed exceptionally well qualified and capable of dealing with this emergency. Hopefully the NTSB can sort this out and we can learn from this tragedy.

Richard is one of the most clear and logical speakers I've ever heard. Keep up the excellent work.

My instructor told me the best thing to do if you lose an engine on a twin during takeoff is to pull both throttles back to idle and land straight ahead. Even though I never flew a twin, I never forgot him giving me that advice…this was around 1992.

Great advice.

Excellent analysis. So tragic and a good reminder all the way around to know it can happen to the best. He must have had a severe case of wanting to get back to the airport. So tragic that he made a left turn. How many hours total did he have? Sounds like he had made plenty of good decisions and had grat flying skills to make it to 72.

Thank you for sharing. Always appreciated. Great reminder for sure.

i think the focus should not be on why the engine quit. the time for figuring out why is later. it quit so dont turn into a dead engine.

Excellent analysis. Thank you.

Pilot was a brilliant surgeon. He will be missed by many

Its crazy how hot and dry it gets every summer here in New Mexico. Lots of the state has high altitude. This was in the 'cool' morning. I Fly RC jets. Electric ducted fans. Planes that will fly out of your hand @ sea level (easily hand launched) will take a full throttle run on a 300' runway to take off. Its amazing how much MMPH you lose with thin dry air.

As ever, perfect analysis.

That pilot seemed to be very qualified to fly this Cessna. He sounded very calm when reporting his engine failure to tower. We are not sure which engine failed at this point but the tower cleared him for a left turn. I learned that you never want to turn towards the dead engine. The tower, in my opinion, should just have said "cleared to land any runway". Aviate, navigate, communicate. I know the tower wants to help but they should understand that the pilot in distress runs the show. If the pilot needs anything from tower he will call. Keep communication to the absolute minimum and let the pilot fly. He is pretty busy.

The info I was looking for was an explanation for the left turn. What prevented a better right turn?

I am not a pilot but at 35 years old I can’t imagine learning this skill and being so knowledgeable and reactive, to navigate an emergency situation.

You gave us a very good overview of procedure for engine loss in a twin for a stable climb and thank you. However, no mention was made on turning into the dead engine. It sounded like the tower asked if he could make a left turn, directing him to the closest runway. It would be sad to find out that he turned into a dead engine trying to rush into a landing on the closest runway, instead of following procedure to establish a climb of some sort straight ahead, or if not possible landing straight ahead gear up. Hopefully, he wasn't in 'gotta save this plane' mode.

as a lay person watching this, is the suggetion not to turn around but to continue to fly straight and climb until you can get to the next forward airport?

good information sir, thansk for you time

Working on my multi-engine add-on now. I can attest to how much more difficult a light twin is to fly on a single engine.

Fly the plane. Airspeed airspeed airspeed. Then consider landing. Sounds like he focused on getting back to the airport. My condolences 💐.

Winds calm? What was the terrain elevation situation on the oppisite runway?

Question. Did pilot firewall throttles and mixture. If so, it could have reduced power output in remaining engine. Turbo's don't like to be red-lined. This may well have nothing to do with density altitude and more about training.

These early analysis videos are great but what happened to the full length videos? I miss them. They were awesome.

"well at least I'm alive" is never a disappointing statement when looking at a destroyed plane.

Great report, my 2 cents is in line with your evaluation, put another way, he stopped flying the airplane, instead he felt it was necessary to start talking to ATC instead of following the procedures you outlined, straight ahead, clean up, lower wing slightly. At that density altitude, the 310, 402 and 421 need both engines to fly, picking a relatively flat spot and ditching it straight ahead was his only chance, making the turn sealed his fate. The DTSB makes it a point for pilots to mentally brief themselves prior to every departure, this technique can save lives in any aircraft.

Very well done.

I would be interested in how much PIC time this pilot had in the warbirds, especially the multis. I would imagine the warbird multi PIC's would always have engine out procedure down pat.

Will be of interest to find out what state the props were in- whether the correct one, or if any, were in feather or not. Even so, turns on one engine are very demanding in terms of aircraft performance, as this video mentions.

Very important case for us light twin pilots. Gave me new perspective on temperature related airfield DA WRT preflight preparation/considerations. One thing of importance is advising which engine failed b/c normally one would want to keep (gentle shallow) turns to the side of the good engine. If he had a left engine failure he would want to avoid left turns and needed to immediately advise tower. Another reason to keep the engines in good shape so a remaining engine can indeed provide max or near max power. Furthermore consideration must be given to mixture settings for max power , full forward is great for cooling but may not provide max power esp at high DA. It was moot but esp at a larger airport he should also have immediately declared an emergency so ATC could put the commercial jets out of the way on a hold or such. Addendum: did his engine actually quit or seize or did the turbocharger fail causing big MAP splits? TC failure esp at high DA may result in significant performance decrement on that side but usually would not require shutting that engine down and feathering, just ignore the split MAPs till back safely on the runway.

Recency of experience is key. Especially at such a high density altitude. There's very little room for error or sloppiness in procedure. Another factor some may not consider is wind shear due to orographic or other turbulence. Not a big deal at full power but a huge deal when hugging blue line with an unfeathered prop, gear, flaps and lights flapping in the breeze.

I have a glider rating. Why pull the power back if descending on one engine? Any additional energy extends the potential glide performance, increasing options? I never understand why powered planes don't have the control enhancing function of spoilers / speed brakes, and cost would seem relatively inconsequential when actually needed.

Looking at the ADS-B returns there was about 1 minute between the airplane climbing with increasing airspeed, then leveling off and decaying airspeed, then impact. That's not a lot of time to recognize the failure, identify the engine, and go through the memory items. Even flying alone in high DA situations it is a good idea to brief yourself about engine failure after TO in a light twin; e.g. below 500' AGL we land straight ahead, between 500 - 1,000 AGL identify, verify, feather and return to the airport, above 1,000 AGL, etc.

The focus on density altitude is important, but it's possible this airplane had a fair bit of margin still. He was solo - that usually means a LOT less weight when you include luggage etc etc. Some cessna 310's are carrying 6 people aren't they? And many are turbocharged. The other issues (cleaning up / feathering / bank / direction of turn etc) all seem like potentially very direct contributors. Gear out, no feather, turn into dead engine, let speed decay? That would be pretty bad. If he was trying to climb my guess is his speed WAS decaying (keep speed is usually part of engine out but I don't know multi) - that was his radio call.

Raise the dead (engine) when turning.

2:15 Would have been interesting to see what the C310 SE Rate of climb chart show with current conditions.

Before engine start: Determine engine-out landing options on runway heading for emergencies below 400'. And obtain all information of every field or road longer than 1000' within 30degreea of runway heading, within 3 miles of the airport. Do not plan the impossible turn below traffic pattern altitude. Get to that altitude, or else land straight ahead.

Having flown a Cessna T-50 Bobcat with 245 HP engines and CS but not feathering props, the rule was if an engine failed on takeoff to pull back the throttles and land straight ahead. There was no hope of flying on one. Better to crash wings level than nose down and/or inverted.

There is a river valley off to the right. I would have headed for that until a safe altitude could be attained.

This is my home airfield. I'm not multi-rated, but from what I understand, the first thing you do when you have an engine failure is get clean. Get above clean stall speed, get the gear up, get the flaps up, and get to best single engine climb speed. Then you can start to unfuck things. Turning is not going to help your situation if your aircraft isn't clean and well past VMC. Not sure if ATC giving the man a turn was a factor in the crash, but it certainly doesn't help adding more work to an already over-saturated work load.

Airspeed on ADS-B track appears to be in excess of 100 knots on the upwind leg. Could it really be too slow for a single engine operation?

It sounds to me like the pilot may have gotten overloaded, and leaned on ATC's turn suggestion instead of making his own judgement. Is there room to improve how ATC handles engine failures? Could they be trained to always ask which engine, and to suggest the most likely safe turn? Or at the very least, not to suggest a turn direction at all in those cases?

For those saying he should have turned right into the good engine, he would have been turning into higher terrain. His ADS-B data shows he could not climb more than about 100' agl, so this would have been a bad option as well. With no climb performance, either due to density altitude or not having the time/wherewithal to secure the dead engine, landing straight ahead was the only 'good' option he had.

Single engine max altitude is about 7500 not 17500, the density altitude was higher than the single engine service ceiling.

Excellent video. A tragic accident and a loss to both his family and community. As for causes, Is it possible that under pressure and due to the high density altitude that the first reaction to the failure would be to push the mixture up to full rich instead of leaving it set for best power at that altitude? Mixture is the first item on the checklist and says “as required for flight altitude” however it is very easy to do when most of your training and home base is at sea level that with a failure the ingrained first reaction in memory is mixture full rich as that results in max power at sea level. Full rich in this case would cause a loss of performance due to the altitude. Also with his significant experience is more complex types that have auto rich functions some reversion may have been a factor. Any which way it is easy to judge when not in the seat. I look forward to the report and the lessons from the video particularly about accepting on off field landing if there is a lack of performance is pertinent. On old and wise instructor once told me that in light twin the second engine will carry you to the scene of the accident.