NYC08FA046 · Cessna 310R

The pilot was scheduled to return to the destination airport earlier in the day, but due to weather conditions, he diverted to a nearby airport. After conditions improved, the pilot attempted the final leg of the flight in near-night instrument meteorological conditions. After departing on an instrument flight rules flight plan, the pilot received radar vectors for the instrument landing system approach at the destination airport. While vectored, the pilot reported to air traffic control (ATC) that at his cruising altitude the air temperature was "plus three C" and that the moisture in the air remained in a liquid state. The airplane crossed the final approach fix and descended on the localizer course just above the glideslope path. About 3 nautical miles beyond the final approach fix, the airplane initiated a climbing right turn, and shortly thereafter the pilot advised ATC, "I’ve tumbled my gyros." The airplane continued in the climbing turn until it began a descent, and was lost from radar. The wreckage of the airplane was located 1,900 feet south of the airplane’s final recorded position. Witnesses and nearby security cameras observed the airplane in a steep descent before it impacted terrain. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures, including both vacuum pumps as well as the pneumatic attitude and horizontal situation indicators. Review of the pilot’s personal flight records revealed that he possessed all of the necessary certificates and ratings required to perform the flight, and had met all of the applicable recency of aeronautical experience requirements.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset