- Date
- April 8, 1988, 23:30 local (Apr 9, 1988, 05:30 UTC)
- Place
- Helena, MT
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N8008MCessna 310I
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report October 6, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880408008089A
- Case key
- 17359
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
The acft depd glasgow, Montana, where the passenger (secretary of state for Montana) had been campaigning. Initially, a VFR flt plan had been filed; however, drg arrival at Helena, an IFR flt plan was filed when the plt realized the wx had deteriorated. The fcst had indicated chc of ceiling 2500 bkn with light snow. The plt was clrd for an ILS rwy 27 apch at 2328 MDT. The plt acknowledged the clnc, but a short time later, radio ctc was lost. The acft crashed along the ILS course after it had passed the final apch fix/outer marker. Witnesses rprtd that a snow storm began just before the acdnt occurred and the visibility was near zero due to blowing snow. The acft impacted in a left wing low, nose low attitude. Witnesses said they heard the acft operating at high RPM and low altitude before the crash, or that the eng sound increased before impact. One witness said the eng sound varied fm high to low RPM. No preimpact part failure or malfunction was fnd. The plt had logged 2 hrs in C-310 and 3 instrument hrs in prev 90 days.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8008M
- Reported as
- Cessna 310I
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 310I0008
- Airframe hours
- 3,650
- Engine
- Continental IO-470, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Johnson, Ronald W.
- Registered owner
- Ronald W. Johnson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 24, 1987
- Departed
- GGW · Glasgow, MT
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- HLN · Helena Regional, runway 27, 9,000 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 64
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 17,809 total · 17,415 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 37 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 360° at 13 knots
- Temperature
- 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.