- Date
- September 1, 1994, 10:54 local (14:54 UTC)
- Place
- Salem, OH
- Injuries
- 5 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7579QCessna 310Q
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 7, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940901024919A
- Case key
- 38820
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot misjudged altitude and distance which resulted in a undershoot of the runway and collision with objects.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane collided with two motor vehicles near the threshold of and during the approach to runway 28L. The pilot canceled his IFR flight plan 5 miles from the airport. According to the pilot,'...the airport was lost from view on downwind.' He turned base, and described the turn as being made, '...at a point which was calculated to be some what premature in order to regain sight of the airport.' He regained sight of the airport after turning base, and wrote '...but the altitude was perceived to be slightly low for the position of the aircraft relative to the airport.' The pilot added power, and the sink rate subsided. On short final, as the airplane flew over a north-south oriented road, at the approach end of the runway, the right wing tip tank struck the windshield of a dump truck in the southbound lane; the left wing struck the roof of a van in the northbound lane. The airplane landed on a grass runway, the landing gear collapsed, and the airplane skidded on the ground, coming to rest on the side of the runway.
Factual narrative
On September 1, 1994, about 1054 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 310Q, N7579Q, piloted by William McPherson, collided with a truck and a van while on final approach to the Salem Airpark, Salem, Ohio. The airplane was substantially damaged, the pilot and the 3 passengers were not injured. There were no injures to any persons on the ground. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a IFR flight plan had been filed. The flight was operated under 14 CFR 91.
The pilot had cancelled his IFR flight plan 5 miles from the airport. According to the pilot's written statement on the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, "...the airport was lost from view on downwind." He turned base, and described the turn as being made, "..at a point which was calculated to be some what premature in order to regain sight of the airport." He regained sight of the airport after turning base, and wrote, "...but the altitude was perceived to be slightly low for the position of the aircraft relative to the airport." The pilot added power, and the sink rate subsided.
While on short final for runway 28L, and flying over State Road (SR) 45, a north-south road, about 1000 feet from the approach end of the runway, the airplane struck the windshield of a dump truck, travelling in a southerly direction, with the right wing tip tank. The airplane's left wing struck the roof of a van, in the north bound lane. The airplane landed on a grass runway, the gear collapsed, and the airplane skidded on the ground coming to rest on the side of the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7579Q
- Reported as
- Cessna 310Q
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 310Q0079
- Airframe hours
- 5,731
- Engine
- Continental IO-470-VO, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Steven J. Wilson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 10, 1994 · 21 hours before
- Departed
- 4M7 · Russellville, KY
- Destination
- 38D
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- 38D · Salem Airpark, runway 28, 3,482 × 50 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 34
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,510 total · 485 in this make and model · 2,448 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 45° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- YNG, 18 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.