# Incident 20260817010189I: Hansen Ernest F HARMON ROCKET II, Billings, MT, August 17, 2026

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 17, 2026, 16:08 local time
- Place: Billings, MT
- Airport: Billings Logan International
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Rollout
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 45.8078° N, 108.5435° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at BILLINGS LOGAN INTL (BIL), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.8078&lon=-108.5435&mi=10
- Aircraft: N969H, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N969H) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hansen Ernest F HARMON ROCKET II (registry code 05632Z6, https://openairdocs.org/model/hansen-ernest-f-harmon-rocket-ii) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HANSEN ERNEST F HARMON ROCKET II
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 16,100 total, 370 in this make and model, 183 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260817010189I

## Narrative

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

^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, THE PIC OF ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, LEFT THE KSDF AIRPORT ON 8/17/2026. HE WOKE IN THE MORNING TO GET AN EARLY START BUT WEATHER DELAYED HIS DEPARTURE SO HE WENT BACK TO SLEEP. HE CLAIMS TO HAVE SLEPT 7-8 HOURS PRIOR TO DEPARTING THAT MORNING.  HE LEFT KSDF AND STOPPED IN KGGI, THEN STOPPED AGAIN KPHP, AND THEN MADE IT TO KBIL AFTER AROUND 6.8 HOURS OF FLYING. DURING HIS LANDING CLEARANCE FOR RUNWAY 28R, BIL TOWER SAID WINDS WERE AROUND 190 DEGREES AT 10 KNOTS (ABOUT A 90 DEGREE CROSSWIND). HE CLAIMS TO HAVE HAD A NORMAL APPROACH AND LANDING. AFTER THE TAILWHEEL SETTLED ON THE GROUND, HE SAID THE AIRCRAFT WANTED TO WEATHERVANE. THIS HAPPENED AS HE WAS LOSING RUDDER EFFECTIVENESS, AND HE COULDN’T KEEP THE AIRCRAFT STRAIGHT. THIS RESULTED IN A GROUND LOOP WHICH THE RIGHT WHEEL PANT AND RIGHT WING. MR. BECK WAS COUNSELED AND HAD A COMPLIANT ATTITUDE. HIS PILOT DOCUMENTS, LOGBOOK, AND AIRCRAFT DOCUMENTS WERE CHECKED WITH NO ISSUES FOUND.

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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