Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pryor, Montana 59066
Tuesady, October 13, 2009 11:41 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was returning to his departure airport. He contacted family members before his departure and indicated that his arrival would be delayed due to poor weather conditions along the route of flight. Review of the global positioning data obtained from a handheld global-positioning-system unit showed that the first portion of the pilot's route of flight was direct between his departure and destination, in a general west-northwesterly direction. Near the end of the flight the flight track showed a 360-degree turn to the right, followed by a path to the south, then 180-degrees to the north, followed by a turn to the south. The last data points showed a westerly track. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical anomalies. While the weather at the accident site at the time of the accident included low clouds and low visibility with fog, the investigation was unable to conclusively determine if the flight cleared the lowest cloud ceiling.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s decision to continue flight into an area of low ceilings and low visibility and his failure to maintain clearance from terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/13/2009
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1141
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Pryor
Event State MONTANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 59066
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 452835N
Event Location Longitude 1081421W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1153 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 300
Weather Observation Facility ID BIL
Elevation of weather observation facility 3652
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 27
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Thin Overcast
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -2
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 27226
NTSB Notification Source FAA Seattle ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 23 2010 10:49PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6202A
NTSB Number WPR10FA018
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 182
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 33002
Certified Max Gross Weight 2650
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 100
Airframe Hours 3799
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name Fred Wallis
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Lavina
Aircraft Owner State MT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 59046-0185
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Fred Wallis
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Lavina
Operator State MT
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 59046-0185
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 SHR
Departure City Sheridan
Departure State WY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 6S8
Destination City Laurel
Destination State MT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 25 2010 3:24PM
User who most recently changed record broda
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --