# Accident 19970609013659A: Cessna U206E, Red Lodge, MT, June 9, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 9, 1997, 10:30 local time
- Place: Red Lodge, MT
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 45.1898° N, 109.2400° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.1898&lon=-109.2400&mi=10
- Aircraft: N206EC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N206EC-1999-03-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna U206E (registry code 2073350, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-u206e) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA U206E
- Reported engine: CONT IO550F
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 3
- Pilot flight hours: 624 total, 234 in this make and model, 3 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA97FA133](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA97FA133) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970609013659A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.4)THE NON INSTRUMENT-RATED PILOT OBTAINED TWO SEPARATE WEATHER BRIEFINGS ON THE LATE AFTERNOON AND FOLLOWING MORNING PRIOR TO DEPARTING ON HIS INTENDED FLIGHT FROM GLENDIVE, MT, TO MCCALL, ID. HE WAS ADVISED BY THE BRIEFER THAT 'VFR FLIGHT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED' DUE TO A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IN MONTANA ALONG WITH OBSCURATIONS. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED GLENDIVE; AND APPROXIMATELY 4 HOURS LATER, THE PILOT RADIOED GREAT FALLS AFSS LOOKING FOR A VFR AIRPORT AVAILABLE FOR LANDING. WITNESSES OBSERVED SEEING THE AIRCRAFT EXIT CLOUDS (BASES APPROXIMATELY 6,000 FEET MSL OR 800 FEET AGL) AND BREAK UP, WITH BOTH WINGS SEPARATING. WEATHER AT THE SITE WAS DESCRIBED AS 'LOW CLOUDS' AND 'OVERCAST' WITH POOR VISIBILITY. BOTH WING STRUTS SEPARATED AT THE STRUT-TO-FUSELAGE ATTACH POINTS, AND THE RIGHT WING WAS FOUND IN TWO SEPARATE PIECES JUST SHORT OF THE INTACT LEFT WING. BOTH WINGS IMPACTED TERRAIN SHORT OF THE FUSELAGE GROUND IMPACT SITE. THE WING SPAR CARRY-THROUGH CHANNEL WAS OBSERVED TO HAVE SEPARATED JUST INBOARD OF THE RIGHT WING-ROOT TO FUSELAGE ATTACH POINT. THE FRACTURE SURFACES WERE CHARACTERISTIC OF INSTANTANEOUS OVERLOAD SEPARATIONS. ALL HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL CONTROL SURFACES REMAINED WITH THE FUSELAGE EXCEPT THE RIGHT ELEVATOR.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB SEA97FA133](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA97FA133), Jun 9, 1997: Cessna U206E (N206EC), Red Lodge, MT, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot-in-command's flight into known adverse weather and the subsequent overload and separation of the right wing-strut fuselage-to-strut attach point. Factors contributing were clouds and…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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