Cessna T310R accident near Marshall, Minnesota, September 4, 2004
On September 4, 2004 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Cessna T310R, registered N5005J, was substantially damaged in an accident near Marshall, Minnesota. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot rated passenger selecting an improper fuel selector position, and the pilot in command not verifying the fuel selector position which resulted in fuel starvation. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to feather the right engine propeller during the emergency, the unsuitable terrain encountered during the landing, and the crop.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 4, 2004 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Marshall, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T310R · all T310Rs on the register
- Registration
- N5005J · registry record · serial 310R0129
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing following a loss of engine power during cruise flight. The pilot stated in a telephone interview that during the flight, a pilot-rated passenger was handling radio communications and also handling some flying duties. He stated that he believes that the pilot-rated passenger inadvertently switched the fuel selectors so that both engines were using fuel from the right main fuel tank. He said that he believes that this occurred when the pilot-rated passenger was attempting to switch the fuel tanks from the auxiliary fuel tanks back to the main fuel tanks. He stated that later in the flight both engines stopped producing power. The pilot stated that he switched fuel tanks and was able to re-start the left engine, but could not get the right engine to restart. He said that he was unable to maintain altitude and elected to land on a gravel road. The pilot said that the road was narrow and the left landing gear went off of the road. The airplane subsequently went off of the left side of the road and into a bean field. The pilot stated that during the attempts to restart the right engine, the propeller was not placed in the feather position. He stated that he was the pilot in command of the flight and that he was seated in the left seat of the airplane. The pilot did not report any malfunction of the airplane or it's systems.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 5,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FPK Charlotte MI
- Destination: ATY Watertown SD
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.
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 never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.