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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 22, 1996 · about 8:20 am local time · cases in 1996
- Place
- Portland, Indiana · Portland · cases near this airport · 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
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N5024J 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-520 9,485 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Portland Municipal · nearest airport
- Chicago Executive · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Indiana 1,367 since 1982 · 179 in the last ten years
- Indiana 5,700 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N5024J 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CHI96FA095.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.