- Date
- March 18, 1990, 12:47 local (19:47 UTC)
- Place
- Elkhorn, MT
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N61918Cessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 15, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900318004689A
- Case key
- 17904
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
The pilot's decision to attempt flight in terrain and conditions which exceeded the performance capabilities of the airplane.
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 flight flew low and slow up a steep canyon. The pilot said the flight encountered a strong downdrift and could not maintain altitude with full power applied. The pilot said the canyon walls climbed steeply and narrowed rapidly, preventing him from turning back out of the canyon. The plane nosed down into the trees, wedged against a tree trunk, and came to rest 8 feet off the ground in a nose down attitude. The pilot said the right wing, fuselage and the propeller were bent. The pilot said he should have selected a higher altitude and not flown up the canyon.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N61918
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17264884
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Helena Aircraft Inc.
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Departed
- HLN · Helena, MT
- Destination
- HLN
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 550 total · 472 in this make and model · 420 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.