# Incident 20021130035189I: Boeing 737, Helena, MT, November 30, 2002

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 30, 2002, 13:24 local time
- Place: Helena, MT
- Airport: Helena Regional Airport
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
- Operator: DALA
- Location: 46.6067° N, 111.9833° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at HELENA RGNL (HLN), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.6067&lon=-111.9833&mi=10
- Aircraft: UNKNOWN (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BOEING 737
- People aboard: 128
- Fatal injuries: 0
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021130035189I

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON NOVEMBER 30, 2002, DELTA AIRLINES FLIGHT 473 PASSED APPROXIMATELY 200' BELOW AND 1/2 MILE BEHIND A CESSNA 170, N1665D, AT 5300' MSL, IN A LOCATION APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES EAST OF THE HELENA MONTANA AIRPORT. STATEMENTS FROM THE HELENA TOWER AND THE CAPTAIN OF DELTA FLIGHT 473 ARE INCLUDED WITH THIS REPORT. THERE IS ALSO A RECORD OF CONVERSATION WITH THE PILOT OF N1665D INCLUDED WITH THIS REPORT. THESE RECORDS DETAIL THE PERCEIVED FACTS SURROUNDING THIS INCIDENT. THE DELTA FIRST OFFICER TOOK EVASIVE ACTION TO AVOID THE CESSNA 170. THIS WAS AN EXTREMELY SERIOUS INCIDENT THAT INVOLVED HIGH POTENTIAL FOR LOSS OF LIFE. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.