- Date
- June 24, 1982, 06:00 local (12:00 UTC)
- Place
- Near Ringling, MT
- Injuries
- 6 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4538SBeech V35B
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 24, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820624024679A
- Case key
- 71923
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Although IMC existed over mountainous areas, the plt attempted a visual flt direct to salt lake city. The probable flt path of the acft was one which is usually flown by plts on VFR flts. The course taken by plts desiring to cross over themountain ridges west of bozeman,MT is to follow the railroad tracks sw out of Ringling. The railroad tracks lie along the bottom of a valley generally on a heading of 270 deg between towering mountains. The Montana aeronautical chart found in the wreckage indicated high terrain at the end of the valley which would have been obscured in clouds. The acftcollided with a mountain at the 6900 ft level while on a southerly heading.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4538S
- Reported as
- Beech V35B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D9800
- Airframe hours
- 832
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-BA-12, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Lewiston Propane Company
- Registered owner
- Lewiston Propane Company
- Departed
- LWT · Lewiston, MT
- Destination
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Flight plan
- VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 786 total · 76 in this make and model · 766 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.