Cessna 310K accident near Hodgen, Oklahoma, December 3, 1983
On December 3, 1983 at about 3:03 am local time, a Cessna 310K, registered N310JD, was destroyed in an accident near Hodgen, Oklahoma (Robert S. Kerr airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- December 3, 1983 · about 3:03 am local time
- Place
- Hodgen, Oklahoma · Robert S. Kerr · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310K · all 310Ks on the register
- Registration
- N310JD · registry record · serial 310K0154
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT HAD PURCHASED THE ACFT AT REXBURG, ID ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT. REPORTEDLY, THE PREVIOUS OWNER HAD FLOWN WITH THE PLT, BEFORE THE PLT DEPARTED REXBURG, AND SAID HE HAD FLOWN THE ACFT VERY WELL. THE PREVIOUS OWNER STATED THAT THE DME WAS NOT FUNCTIONING AT THE TIME THE ACFT WAS PURCHASED & HAD LEFT REXBURG. THE PLT THEN DEPARTED ON A FLT TO POTEAU, OK WITH AN EN ROUTE STOP AT HUTCHINSON, KS. AT HUTCHINSON, THE ACFT WAS REFUELED, BUT NO MAINTEANCE WAS PERFORMED. THE PLT TOOK OFF ON THE FINAL PORTION OF THE FLT TO POTEAU AT 1905 CST. DURING ARRIVAL, HE WAS INSTRUCTEDTO REMAIN AT 4500 FT UNTIL CROSSING THE RICH MOUNTAIN VOR, THEN WAS CLEARED FOR THE VOR/DME RWY 36 APCH. DURING THE, APCH, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH RISING TERRAIN AT ABOUT 2550 FT, APRX 2 MI NORTH OF THE VOR. THE MIN STEP-DOWN ALT WAS 4000 FT UNTIL 8 MI NORTH OF THE VOR, THEN THE MIN ALT WAS 2400 FT UNTIL CROSSING THE FINAL APCH FIX, 15 MI NORTH OF THE VOR. NO PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND EXCEPT FOR THE INOPERATIVE DME.
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: 527 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 1, 1983
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-VO (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HUT Hutchinson KS at 1:05 am
- Destination: RUR Poteau OK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 36, 4,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 070° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 300 ft; not recorded at 300 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Observation at 2:47 am from FSM, 43 miles away
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.
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.