Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lewiston, Montana 59445
Saturday, July 1, 1995 16:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

WHILE MANEUVERING OVER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AT 500 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL, THE AIRPLANE PASSED OVER A RIDGE LINE THEN DROPPED INTO A CANYON. THE PILOT STATED THAT A 'SEVERE DOWNDRAFT JOLTED THE AIRPLANE...,' AND THE ENGINE LOST POWER. THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE AND THE LANDING GEAR WOULD NOT LOCK DOWN. A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE TO AN OPEN ROUGH FIELD. DURING THE LANDING ROLL, THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN. AN EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED A TRACE OF WATER CONTAMINATION IN THE FUEL SYSTEM. NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND TO INDICATE A MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DUE TO UNDETERMINED REASONS, AND THE LACK OF A SUITABLE AREA FOR THE FORCED LANDING.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/1/1995
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City LEWISTON
Event State MONTANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 59445
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 50
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1351
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 1 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1950
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:26PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4GY
NTSB Number SEA95LA134
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 210B
Aircraft Series Identifier 210B
Aircraft Serial Number 21057977
Certified Max Gross Weight 3000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 20 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 16
Airframe Hours 1746
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BLUE RANGE ENGINEERING CO, INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 56 E. MERCURY ST.
Aircraft Owner City BUTTE
Aircraft Owner State MT
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 59701
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name HOFFMAN, LARRY C.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 56 E. MERCURY ST.
Operator City BUTTE
Operator State MT
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 59701
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code BTM
Departure City BUTTE
Departure State MT
Departure Country
Departure Time 1445
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code LWT
Destination City
Destination State MT
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --