Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Red Lodge, Montana 59068
Sunday, February 7, 1988 16:24 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PLT AND TWO PAX WERE RETURNING TO TWIN FALLS, ID FROM BILLINGS, MT. THE PLT REC TWO WX BRIEFINGS PRIOR TO DEP. THE WX FORECAST INDICATED LOW CLOUDS, SNOW, TURB AND ICING COND ALONG THE INTENDED ROUTE OF FLIGHT. THE ROUTE OF FLIGHT REQUIRED THE PLT TO TRAVERSE HIGH MTN TERRAIN. THE PLT RADIOED HE WAS ENCOUNTERING CLOUDS NEAR THE MTNS. THE ACC SITE ELEV WAS 10,000 FT. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF A MECH MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE OF THE ACFT STRUCTURE, FLT CONTROLS, ENG OR PROP. THE FSS HAD FORECAST THE MOUNTAINS TO BE OBSCURED BY CLOUDS AND THE WX TO INCLUDE SNOW AND TURBULENCE.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/7/1988
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1624
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City RED LODGE
Event State MONTANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 59068
Event Date Year 1988
Event Date Month 2
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 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 0
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1650 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 30
Weather Observation Facility ID BIL
Elevation of weather observation facility 3649
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 65
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 2
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 15
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 3
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 163
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Feb 8 1988 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 700
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 35696
Date of most recent change to record Dec 13 2000 11:32AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N20484
NTSB Number DEN88FA071
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172M
Aircraft Series Identifier 172M
Aircraft Serial Number 17261327
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Dec 18 1987 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 53
Airframe Hours 3402
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RIM TO RIM FLYERS INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address ROUTE 2 BOX 5324
Aircraft Owner City TWIN FALLS
Aircraft Owner State ID
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 83301
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 No
Departure Airport Code BIL
Departure City BILLINGS
Departure State MT
Departure Country
Departure Time 1450
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code TWF
Destination City TWIN FALLS
Destination State ID
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length 0
Runway Width 0
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --