Cessna 310Q accident near Beaver, West Virginia, January 18, 1985
On January 18, 1985 at about 9:45 pm local time, a Cessna 310Q, registered N69938, was substantially damaged in an accident near Beaver, West Virginia (Raleigh-Co Memorial airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 18, 1985 · about 9:45 pm local time · cases in 1985
- Place
- Beaver, West Virginia · Raleigh-Co Memorial · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310Q · all 310Qs on the register
- Registration
- N69938 · registry record · serial 310Q1029
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A SNOW BANK DURING LANDING GROUND RUN ON AN ICY RWY. PLTS VISION OBSTRUCTED BY ICE ON WINDSHIELD.ICING WAS ENCOUNTERED ABOUT 10 MINS PRIOR TO LANDING. SIGMET AND PLT REPORTS INDICATED THE PRESENCE OF ICING. THE PLT HAD FILED AN IFR FLT PLAN. THE FLT HAD DEPARTED BECKLEY FOR TRI-CITY ARPT ABOUT 1030 ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,820 hours in all; 620 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 2,575 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,150 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 11, 1985; 13 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-VO (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TRI Blountville TN at 9:10 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 19, 6,750 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:52 pm from BKW
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N69938 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 310 1,410 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,684 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO-470-VO 8 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Raleigh County Memorial · nearest airport
- Tri-Cities Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in West Virginia 424 since 1982 · 54 in the last ten years
- West Virginia 886 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ATL85LA080.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.