Cessna 310R accident near Bluefield, WV
On January 8, 2001, a Cessna 310R (airplane) was involved in an accident near Bluefield, WV. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- January 8, 2001
- Place
- Bluefield, WV
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310R · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 37.284°N, 81.206°W
- NTSB ID
- 20010124X00349
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On January 8, 2001, about 0700 Eastern Standard Time, a Cessna 310R, N123RA, operated by Rader Aviation, Inc., was destroyed when it impacted rising terrain during a missed approach at Mercer County Airport (BLF), Bluefield, West Virginia. The certificated commercial pilot was fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan, between Greenbrier Valley Airport (LWB), Lewisburg, West Virginia, and Bluefield. The positioning flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) voice transcript, at 0644 the pilot contacted Indianapolis Center, and reported that the airplane was at 6,000 feet. The controller then provided the pilot with the weather at Bluefield, which included "wind...two seven zero at three, visibility one and a quarter, and light snow, four hundred broken, niner hundred overcast...," and asked what kind of approach the pilot wanted. The pilot requested the ILS RWY 23 approach, and was told to proceed direct to DROWE intersection. He was then told to maintain 6,000 feet, and report when established on the approach. At 0651, the pilot reported established on the approach, then acknowledged a frequency change to the airport's common traffic advisory frequency. He subsequently advised the controller that he would contact him after the airplane had landed. No further transmissions were received from the pilot. Radar data revealed that the airplane joined the localizer outside DROWE Intersection,
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to execute the published missed approach procedure. A factor was heavy snowfall during the approach.
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Browse: West Virginia · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
