Cessna 310K accident near Unionville, Pennsylvania, February 25, 1992
On February 25, 1992 at about 1:08 am local time, a Cessna 310K, registered N6928L, was destroyed in an accident near Unionville, Pennsylvania (University Park airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT DID NOT FOLLOW THE PUBLISHED IFR PROCEDURES AND ALLOWED THE AIRPLANE TO DESCEND TO AN ALTITUDE INSUFFICIENT TO CLEAR THE TERRAIN. FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE PILOT'S APPREHENSION DUE TO THE LOW FUEL STATE, THE DARK NIGHT, ADVERSE WEATHER, AND THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 25, 1992 · about 1:08 am local time
- Place
- Unionville, Pennsylvania · University Park · 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
- N6928L · no longer on the register · serial 310K-0028
- 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
DURING A VOR-B APPROACH THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED RISING TERRAIN 2.5 MI FROM THE AIRPORT, AT 1,785 FT MSL. THE CRASH SITE WAS IN LINE WITH THE FINAL APPROACH COURSE, AT A POINT ON THE APPROACH PROFILE WHERE THE MINIMUM ALTITUDE IS 2,520 FT. THE AIRPLANE WAS LAST REFUELED ON 2/18; ESTIMATED FLYING TIME SINCE THEN WAS 5.5 HRS.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,877 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, February 1, 1992; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-VO (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Centre Airline INC.
The flight
- Departed from: JST Johnstown PA
- Destination: UNV State College PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 6, 5,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 090° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 800 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:40 am from UNV, 2 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.