Cessna 310N accident near Bellingham, Washington, November 5, 1987
On November 5, 1987 at about 6:40 am local time, a Cessna 310N, registered N4178Q, was destroyed in an accident near Bellingham, Washington (Bellingham Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people were killed. 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 5, 1987 · about 6:40 am local time
- Place
- Bellingham, Washington · Bellingham Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310N · all 310Ns on the register
- Registration
- N4178Q · no longer on the register · serial 0078
- 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 ACFT WAS CHARTERED TO TAKE UNIVERSITY (WWU) PSNL TO AN ALUMNI DINNER. WHILE RTRNG AT NGT, THE PLT MADE A LOCALIZER ONLY, ILS RWY 16 APCH IN MARGINAL VFR CONDS. DRG THE APCH, RADAR SVC WAS TERMINATED & THE PLT WAS TOLD TO CTC BELLINGHAMRADIO, BUT HE DID NOT LND OR CTC THE FACILITY. RADAR DATA SHOWED HE CONTD SOUTHBOUND TWD WWU & CHGD THE TRANSPONDER CODETO 1200 (VFR). RADAR CTC WAS LOST FOR APRX 1-1/2 MIN AS THE ACFT PASSED OVR THE VCNTY OF WWU & 1 OF THE PAX'S HOME, THENRADAR CTC WAS REESTABLISHED. WITNESSES IN THE AREA RPRTD SEEING A LOW FLYING ACFT AT APRX THAT TIME. THE ACFT THEN FLEW TO THE VCNTY OF SVRL LARGE REFINERIES APRX 9 MI NNW OF THE ARPT & RADAR CTC WAS LOST AGAIN. WHEN THE ACFT DID NOT LAND AT THE ARPT, A SEARCH WAS STARTED. IT WAS FND WHERE IT HAD HIT 200' TREES & CRASHED. NO ONE SAW THE ACDNT, BUT 2 PERSONSSAW AN ACFT FLYING AT LOW ALT IN THAT VCNTY WITH THE LNDG LGT ON. THEY ALSO RPRTD PTCHY FOG IN THE AREA. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT TURNED TO AN EASTERLY HDG BFR IT CRASHED. NO PREIMPACT MECH PRBLM WAS FND THAT WOULD HAVE CAUSE THE ACDNT.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,631 hours in all; 220 in this make and model; 44 in the last 90 days; 28 in the last 30 days; 1,358 as pilot in command; 135 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,012 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 15, 1987; 53 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-VO (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TIW Tacoma WA at 5:45 am
- Destination: Bellingham WA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 16, 5,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 330° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,000 ft; not recorded at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:55 am from BLI, 9 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.