Cessna 310H accident near Reno, Nevada, September 7, 1994
On September 7, 1994 at about 1:44 am local time, a Cessna 310H, registered N1081Q, was destroyed in an accident near Reno, Nevada (Reno-Cannon International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain minimum control airspeed.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 7, 1994 · about 1:44 am local time
- Place
- Reno, Nevada · Reno-Cannon International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310H · all 310Hs on the register
- Registration
- N1081Q · no longer on the register · serial 310H0081
- 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 COURIER PILOT WAS INBOUND FOR RUNWAY 25 AT RENO, NEVADA. HE WAS NUMBER TWO FOR LANDING AND HIS TRAFFIC WAS A BOEING 727 INBOUND FOR RUNWAY 16L. HE WAS REQUESTED TO SLOW FOR SPACING AND HAD THE TRAFFIC IN SIGHT. THE CONTROLLER SUGGESTED A TURN FOR SPACING AND THE PILOT SAID THAT HE HAD ALREADY 'SLOWED QUITE A BIT.' THE CONTROLLER AGAIN REQUESTED THE PILOT TO REDUCE TO SLOWEST PRACTICAL AIRSPEED. THE PILOT STATED 'OK WE'RE SLOWING IT DOWN NOW.' AFTERWARDS, THE PILOT WAS TOLD TO GO-AROUND AND HE ACKNOWLEDGED. HE WAS THEN GIVEN A RIGHT TURN AND CLEARED TO LAND ON RUNWAY 25. DURING THE RIGHT MANEUVERING TURN OVER THE CENTER OF THE AIRPORT, THE CONTROLLER ASKED THE PILOT IF HE HAD A PROBLEM TO WHICH THE PILOT ANSWERED 'YES I DO.' ABOUT 5 SECONDS LATER, THE PILOT STATED THAT 'I'M GOING TO CRASH.' WITNESSES STATED THAT THE GO-AROUND APPEARED TO BE AT A SLOW AIRSPEED WITH THE AIRPLANE WALLOWING BACK AND FORTH. AS THE AIRCRAFT PASSED OVER AN AIRLINE TERMINAL CONCOURSE THE LANDING GEAR REPORTEDLY STARTED TO RETRACT. AT THE SAME TIME THE AIRCRAFT ROLLED TO THE LEFT FROM ABOUT 150 FEET AND IMPACTED ON THE JETWAY RAMP NEXT TO THE TERMINAL. THE PILOT DID NOT STATE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS, NOR WAS THERE ANY PHYSICAL EVIDENCE FOUND DURING THE EXAMINATION OF THE AIRFRAME, ENGINES, AND PROPELLERS.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,381 hours in all; 510 in this make and model; 270 in the last 90 days; 105 in the last 30 days; 2,381 as pilot in command; 892 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,425 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 1, 1993; 156 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Copper State Air Service, INC
The flight
- Departed from: EKO Elko NV
- Destination: RNO
- Runway 25, 6,101 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:55 am from RNO, 1 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.