Cessna 310 accident near St. Louis, Missouri, November 18, 1988
On November 18, 1988 at about 3:30 am local time, a Cessna 310, registered N8147M, was substantially damaged in an accident near St. Louis, Missouri (Spirit Of St. Louis airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- November 18, 1988 · about 3:30 am local time
- Place
- St. Louis, Missouri · Spirit Of St. Louis · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310 · all 310s on the register
- Registration
- N8147M · registry record · serial 310IO147
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ARRIVING OVER HIS DESTINATION AIRPORT, THE PILOT SAID HE HAD AN UNSAFE RIGHT MAIN GEAR LIGHT INDICATION. AFTER CIRCLING ABOUT TWO HOURS TO LIGHTEN THE FUEL LOAD, AND ATTEMPTING TO LOWER THE GEAR BY EMERGENCY PROCEDURES, A LANDING WAS ATTEMPTED. AFTER TOUCHDOWN AND DURING THE ROLL OUT, THE RIGHT GEAR COLLAPSED ABOUT 3/4 DOWN THE RUNWAY, CAUSING THE ACFT TO VEER OFF THE RUNWAY AND SUSTAIN SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED POOR RIGGING OF THE GEAR RETRACTION SYSTEM.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,600 hours in all; 140 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 1,460 as pilot in command; 350 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,559 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 3, 1988; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,100 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-U (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SGF Springfield MO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 8R, 6,008 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 11,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:27 am from SUS, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.