Cessna 310R accident near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, March 26, 1998
On March 26, 1998 at about 10:05 am local time, a Cessna 310R, registered N3700G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Joe Foss Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to extend the landing gear for landing. Factors associated with the accident were: the crosswind, and the pilot not following his normal habit pattern of lowering the landing gear on base leg.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 26, 1998 · about 10:05 am local time
- Place
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota · Joe Foss Field
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310R · all 310Rs on the register
- Registration
- N3700G · no longer on the register · serial 0899
- 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 pilot reported that due to the gusty crosswind conditions, he made a single 180 degree turn from downwind to final during an approach to land on runway 21. He reported that he normally lowered the landing gear on base leg. Also, he indicated that because he did not fly a normal traffic pattern, (his habit pattern was interupted, and) he failed to extend the landing gear. The airplane touched down on the runway with the landing gear retraced.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,455 hours in all; 482 in this make and model; 341 in the last 90 days; 111 in the last 30 days; 2,362 as pilot in command; 845 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,820 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 1, 1998; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,535 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-M1B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Airnet Systems
The flight
- Departed from: DSM Des Moines IA at 8:53 am
- Destination: FSD
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 21, 8,999 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 250° at 9 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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 N3700G 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.