Havre City Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Havre, Montana 59501
Friday, January 30, 1998 1:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot had received three hours of dual instruction, but had not yet soloed. The airplane was removed from its hangar and flown without authorization from its owner. The student pilot's whereabouts were known until about 2347 the previous evening, and the airplane was first noted to be missing about 0530 in the morning. There were no known witnesses to the crash. However, one individual remembered seeing an airplane at 0130, which caught his attention, as it was departing to the east with winds from the west. He said the engine was not very loud, and the airplane was about 3-400 feet off the ground. He remembered seeing red and green lights and the airplane 'bobbing' in the wind, with the wings tipping from side to side. He left for work without paying further attention to the airplane, while it was still west of his house. The house is located about 1-2 blocks southwest of the crash site. FAA inspectors conducted an on-scene investigation and reported that no pre-crash mechanical anomalies were found. Toxicological testing by the FAA of samples from the student pilot confirmed a concentration of 52 mg/dl ethanol in blood, 116 mg/dl in brain fluid, and 152 mg/dl in urine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's loss of control after his failure to maintain airspeed. Factors include his lack of total flight experience and incapacitation due to alcohol.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/30/1998
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 130
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City HAVRE
Event State MONTANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 59501
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport HAVRE CITY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HVR
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 70
Airport Elevation 2590
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 57 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID KHV
Elevation of weather observation facility 2590
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 445
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 30 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 814
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 10:41AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8798G
NTSB Number SEA98LA031
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 150F
Aircraft Series Identifier 150F
Aircraft Serial Number 15062898
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 9 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 100
Airframe Hours 5002
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name STEVE WITT
Aircraft Owner Street Address HC 67 BOX 3
Aircraft Owner City LOMA
Aircraft Owner State MT
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 59460
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code KHVR
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 130
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Climb
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 7
Runway Length 5205
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --