# Accident 19990611017289A: Piper PA18150, Baudette, MN, June 11, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 11, 1999, 10:08 local time
- Place: Baudette, MN
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 48.7091° N, 94.5804° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.7091&lon=-94.5804&mi=10
- Aircraft: N305NR (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA18150
- Reported engine: LYC O320A2B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI99GA185](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI99GA185) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990611017289A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON JUNE 11, 1999, AT APPROXIMATELY 0812 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME (ALL TIMES CDT), A PIPER PA-18-150, N305NR, OPERATED BY THE MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES (DNR), WAS DESTROYED WHEN THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND ABOUT 22 MILES SOUTH OF BAUDETTE, MINNESOTA. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT AND OTHER CREW MEMBER RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE 14 CFR PART 91 FLIGHT DEPARTED THE PRIVATE DNR AIRSTRIP NEAR THE RED LAKE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA, BAUDETTE, MINNESOTA, AT 0700 ON A WILDLIFE OBSERVATION FLIGHT. THE BEMIDJI/BELTRAMI COUNTY AIRPORT, BEMIDJI, MINNESOTA, WAS THE DESTINATION. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. RECORDS INDICATED N305NR WAS LAST FUELED ON JUNE 6, 1999, WITH 16.2 GALLONS OF FUEL AT THE BEMIDJI AIRPORT WHERE IT WAS BASED. ON FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 1999, THE DNR PILOT CONTACTED THE AUTOMATED FLIGHT SERVICE STATION AT PRINCETON, MINNESOTA, AND RECEIVED A WEATHER BRIEF. THE PILOT DEPARTED BEMIDJI AT 0556 EN ROUTE TO THE DNR'S PRIVATE AIRSTRIP NEAR BAUDETTE, MINNESOTA, AND LANDED AT 0644. THE OTHER CREWMEMBER, WHO OPERATED THE TELEMETRY EQUIPMENT USED FOR TRACKING WILDLIFE, BOARDED THE AIRPLANE AND N305NR DEPARTED AT 0700. THE EXACTROUTE OF FLIGHT FLOWN BY N305NR DURING THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT IS NOT KNOWN. THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS TO CONDUCT A MOOSE TELEMETRY SURVEY THAT TRACKED ELECTRONICALLY COLLARED MOOSE CALVES. THERE WERE NO WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT. AN EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER BEACON WAS HEARD BY A CANADIAN AIRCRAFT AT APPROXIMATELY 1000. A SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED FOR THE AIRPLANE AND IT WAS LOCATED IN A MARSH AT N 48 DEGREES 21.983 MINUTES, W 94 DEGREES 39.048 MINUTES. THE AIRPLANE'S NOSE WAS FOUND IN ABOUT THREE TO FOUR FEET OF WATER. THE AIRPLANE'S FUSELAGE AND TAIL WERE FOUND IN A NEAR VERTICAL POSITION. THE AIRPLANE'S ELECTRICALLY POWERED CLOCK HAD STOPPED AT 8:12. THE LEFT WING FUEL TANK WAS RUPTURED. THE RIGHT FUEL TANK WAS INTACT BUT THE VENTED FUEL CAP WAS SUBMERGED IN WATER PRIOR TO THE RECOVERY. FUEL AND WATER WERE FOUND IN THE RIGHT FUEL TANK. A LINE OF BLUE RESIDUE WAS FOUND ALONG THE SPAN OF THE RIGHT WING AT THE WATERLINE. FUEL COULD BE SMELLED AT THE ACCIDENT SITE. (-23)N305NR CRASHED NEAR WASKISH, MN, 06/11/1999, WHILE CONDUCTING STATE OF MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES FLIGHT (WILDLIFE SURVEY).  THE A                                                                       IRCRAFT WAS FOUND IN A SWAMP, NOSE DOWN, IN A NEAR VERTICAL ATTITUDE. BOTH PERSONS ON BOARD (1 PILOT AND 1 PASSENGER) WERE INJURED FATALLY.  SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT.  THERE ARE NO KNOWN WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT.  AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO HAVE STRUCK THE GROUND IN A NEAR VERTICAL NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE, WITH LITTLE OR NO ROTATION. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^

## 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 CHI99GA185](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI99GA185), Jun 11, 1999: Piper PA-18-150 (N305NR), Baudette, MN, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot inadvertently stalled the airplane. A factor was the low altitude.

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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