- Date
- July 3, 1989, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Red Lodge, MT
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4391APiper PA-28RT-201T
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 17734
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Inadequate compensation for the wind conditions during landing roll, resulting in a loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the gusty wind condition.
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 private plt and his wife were making a x-country flt. The plt selected rwy 16, a 4,000 x 75 ft, asphalt rwy, with winds he estimated as from 150 deg at 5 KTS. The plt reported that during landing roll, a wind gust he estimated from 260 deg at 30 KTS, pushed the acft left and raised the nose. He said he had little control of the acft. The plt said he corrected to the right and attempted to go around by adding full power. According to witnesses, the acft became airborne and flew at 10 ft AGL, gradually losing altitude until it struck a 3 ft high bank and slid into a water filled irrigation ditch. The acft came to rest about 1,000 feet west of the rwy. Several witnesses confirmed that the wind had gusted suddenly during the attempted landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4391A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28RT-201T (PA-28RT-20)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-8431029
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-360-FB9, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Frank, Robert E.
- Registered owner
- Robert E Frank
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · May 30, 1989 · 1,285 hours before
- Departed
- GEG · Spokane, WA
- Destination
- RED
- Airport
- RED · Red Lodge, runway 16, 4,000 × 75 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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 355 total · 66 in this make and model · 355 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 5 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F