Cessna 310Q accident near Tell City, Indiana, October 2, 1988
On October 2, 1988 at about 5:50 am local time, a Cessna 310Q, registered N8157Q, was destroyed in an accident near Tell City, Indiana (Perry County Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. 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
- October 2, 1988 · about 5:50 am local time
- Place
- Tell City, Indiana · Perry County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310Q · all 310Qs on the register
- Registration
- N8157Q · no longer on the register · serial 310Q0620
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT FLEW A VOR APPROACH TO THE AIRPORT, BUT WAS TOO HIGH TO LAND ON THE APPROACH RUNWAY. HE EXECUTED A CIRCLING VFR PATTERN TO LAND ON THE RECIPROCAL RUNWAY, THEN FLEW INTO THE GROUND FOG IN THE DESCENDING BASE TURN. THE LEFT WING STRUCK A TREE WHILE IN THE TURN. THE PILOT HAD RECIEVED A COMPLETE WEATHER BRIEF OF THE EXISTING CONDITIONS, AND SAW PATCHY GROUND FOG PRIOR TO EXECUTING THE APPROACH. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER HAD LEFT AT 0830 THE PREVIOUS DAY, FLOWN TO A FOOTBALL GAME, AND WERE RETURNING WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED AT 0050 EST.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,846 hours in all; 253 in this make and model; 187 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 2,563 as pilot in command; 271 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,600 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 10, 1988; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-VO (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Morgan Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: LEX Lexington KY at 4:35 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13, 3,200 ft by 60 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 250° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:49 am from EVV, 19 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N8157Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.