Piper PA-31-310 accident near East Saint Loui, Illinois, February 16, 1982
On February 16, 1982 at about 4:03 am local time, a Piper PA-31-310, registered N7511L, was substantially damaged in an accident near East Saint Loui, Illinois (Bi-State Parks 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 16, 1982 · about 4:03 am local time
- Place
- East Saint Loui, Illinois · Bi-State Parks · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-310 · all PA-31-310s on the register
- Registration
- N7511L · no longer on the register · serial 31837
- 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 AIRCREW DID NOT KEY THE APPROACH LIGHTS ON DURING THE FIRST ILS APPROACH AT NIGHT. THEREFORE, A MISSED APPROACH WAS MADE. ON THE SECOND APPROACH, THE LEAD-IN LIGHTS WERE VISIBLE FROM OVER ONE MILE. HOWEVER, THE VISIBILITY WAS MUCH WORSE AT TOUCHDOWN, WHICH WAS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY. THE LEFT MAIN GEAR ENCOUNTERED SNOW AT THE EDGE OF THE RUNWAY AND THE AIRCRAFT SWERVED LEFT INTO A SNOWBANK. THE SNOWBANKS WERE ABOUT 4 FEET HIGH AND WERE LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 10 FEET OUTSIDE OF THE RUNWAY LIGHTS. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THERE WERE NO NOTAMS CONCERNING THE SNOWBANKS. THE 2221 CST WEATHER OBSERVATION AT ST. LOUIS WAS TAKEN ABOUT 15 MILES AWAY AND INDICATED VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. HOWEVER, THE PILOT REPORTED THE VISIBILITY WAS VARIABLE BETWEEN 1/2 AND 3 MILES.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: gyroplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 9,999 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,478 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,500 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-A2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CPS Paducah KY at 8:50 pm
- Destination: East Saint Loui IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 30, 5,499 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 110° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,600 ft; scat at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 100°F (38°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:21 pm from STL, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.