Cessna 310 accident near Portland, Indiana, February 22, 1996
On February 22, 1996 at about 8:20 am local time, a Cessna 310, registered N5024J, was destroyed in an accident near Portland, Indiana (Portland airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain an altitude adequate for terrain clearance. A factor was the weather.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 22, 1996 · about 8:20 am local time
- Place
- Portland, Indiana · Portland · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310 · all 310s on the register
- Registration
- N5024J · registry record · serial 310R0144
- 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 was attempting a second NDB/GPS Runway 9 approach to the Portland Airport. Visibility was estimated at 1/8 to 1/4 mile. The airplane came to rest approximately 1/2 mile south of the airport. The commercial rated passenger remembered getting below the minimum descent altitude of 1,500 feet, and told the pilot they needed to make a missed approach. The passenger remembered 1,120 feet MSL on the altimeter at the time of the first impact.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,360 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 2,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,400 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 12, 1996; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PWK Wheeling IL at 6:45 pm
- Destination: PLD
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 030° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 1.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:50 am from FWA, 40 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 N5024J 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.