Accident Cessna 310N N5015Q, Thursday 25 July 1991
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Date:Thursday 25 July 1991
Time:
Type:Silhouette image of generic C310 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Cessna 310N
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N5015Q
MSN: 310N-0115
Fatalities:Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
Other fatalities:0
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Category:Accident
Location:Lugar da Serra, Ribeira Brava, Madeira -   Portugal
Phase: En route
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Funchal-Madeira Airport (FNC/LPMA)
Destination airport:Porto Santo
Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources
Narrative:
The Cessna 310 impacted a moutainside on the island of Madeira and caught fire, killing all six on board.

The aircraft was owned by an American airline pilot who had immigrated from Madeira. In May 1991 the aircraft flew from California to Madeira (with six technical stops). On July 25 the aircraft took off from Madeira Airport at with the destination being Porto Santo. The aircraft was carrying the pilot (owner), copilot and four passengers (friends of the owner). Shortly after takeoff the pilot asked authorization for a sightseeing on the South shore of Madeira Island before heading to Porto Santo and was seen flying over Funchal at around 17:00. For unknown reasons, at around 17:40 the aircraft crashed on a mountain in forest of Lugar da Serra, parish of Campanário in the municipality of Ribeira Brava. The impact resulted in a fire and none of the occupants survived. The location of the crash was the parish where the owner was born.

Sources:

Weser-Kurier 27 July 1991, p12
https://www.dnoticias.pt/2021/7/26/270646-ha-30-anos-dois-acidentes-de-aviacao-em-menos-de-20-horas-matavam-8-pessoas-na-madeira/
https://arquivos.rtp.pt/conteudos/queda-de-aviao-na-madeira-2/
https://www.flightaware.com/resources/registration/N5015Q

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
13-Jun-2025 14:23 TB Added
19-Jun-2025 17:04 ASN Updated [Operator, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ]
19-Jun-2025 17:07 ASN Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Source, ]
21-Jun-2025 13:35 nunocaldeira Updated [Location, ]

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