Cessna 310R accident near Pocatello, Idaho, November 30, 1984
On November 30, 1984 at about 4:51 pm local time, a Cessna 310R, registered N37279, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pocatello, Idaho (Pocatello Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries. 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
- November 30, 1984 · about 4:51 pm local time
- Place
- Pocatello, Idaho · Pocatello Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310R · all 310Rs on the register
- Registration
- N37279 · no longer on the register · serial 310R1202
- 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 ACFT HAD DESCENDED TO ABOUT 900 AGL AFTER PASSING THROUGH ICING CONDITIONS WITH A LIGHT ACCUMULATION OF ICE. WHEN THE LANDING GEAR WAS LOWERED THE ACFT STARTED YAWING AND THE ACFT ENGINE INSTRUMENTS WERE FLUCUATING. THE PLT THOUGHT THAT THE ENGINES WERE SURGING. THE ACFT WAS LANDED ABOUT 700 FT SHORT OF THE RWY IN SAGEBRUSH WHICH COLLAPSED THE LANDING GEAR. NO REASON FOR THE ENGINE MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. THE COWL FLAPS WERE CLOSED ON THE RIGHT ENGINE AND OPEN ON THE LEFT ENGINE.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,372 hours in all; 158 in this make and model; 217 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,193 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 6, 1984; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TWF Twin Falls ID at 4:21 pm
- Destination: PIH Pocatello ID
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 21, 9,056 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 19 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 600 ft; not recorded at 600 ft
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:57 pm from PIH
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.