# NTSB SEA05FA023: Cirrus Design SR22, N1159C, Belgrade, MT, December 4, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Field investigation · Final report - Date: December 4, 2004, 15:30 local (22:30 UTC) - Place: Belgrade, MT - Coordinates: 45.888053, -110.977775 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.8881&lon=-110.9778&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 3 fatal, 1 serious - Status: Completed, report September 13, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA, FSDO, Cirrus Design Corporation, Teledyne Continental Motors - NTSB case key (mKey): 60682 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA05FA023 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/60682/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA05FA023 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance while maneuvering in mountainous terrain, which resulted in an inflight collision with trees and terrain. Contributing factors were the mountainous terrain and the downdraft. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, maneuvering - object - tree(s) - altitude/clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - weather condition - downdraft (contributing factor) - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled - terrain condition - mountainous/hilly (contributing factor) ## Analysis The airplane, flown by a commercial pilot and carrying three passengers, departed in day visual meteorological conditions for a local flight over rugged mountainous terrain. The purpose of the flight was to meet up with a motor glider and make some "flybys" of the glider. The glider pilot was giving a ride to the airplane pilot's friend. The glider pilot reported that the airplane made two passes by the glider. When the airplane passed by the glider for the second time, it was "in coordinated flight," with the flaps up, and it was either flying level or descending slightly. At the time, the glider was at an altitude of about 8,900 feet and had a ground speed of about 57 knots. The glider pilot lost sight of the airplane as it proceeded north into a cirque or bowl formed by a mountain range (peak elevation about 9,600 feet) running north to south and a transverse range (peak elevation 8,916 feet) running west and then hooking south. The glider pilot and passenger did not witness the accident. However, the glider did enter the bowl about 90 seconds after the airplane had passed the glider. The glider pilot executed a left 180 degree turn in the bowl. During the turn, the glider was at altitudes of 9,100 to 9,200 feet and encountered an air mass that was sinking about 100 to 200 feet per minute. The surviving passenger, who was seated in the left rear seat, reported that as the airplane made the second pass on the glider, the stall warning indicator sounded. The pilot dropped the nose to level out, and the stall warning indicator stopped sounding. The passenger heard a high-pitched whine that sounded like a noise he had heard during the preflight check. He thought it was the sound of the flap motor, but when he looked out, he saw that the flaps were not moving. He could not see the pilot moving the flap control, and neither the pilot, nor the other passengers made any comments about the flaps. The pilot then initiated a descending left turn. During this turn, the pilot looked over his shoulder and, in a normal tone of voice, said, "hang on, we might get a couple of trees on this one." It was about 10 to 15 seconds from the time the stall warning horn stopped sounding until they hit the trees. Distribution of the wreckage at the accident site indicated the airplane impacted trees on the transverse ridge at an elevation of 8,553 feet on a southwesterly heading and traveled about 360 feet before coming to rest. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any discrepancies that would have prevented normal operation of the airplane. The flaps were found in the retracted position. Functional testing of the flaps was precluded by impact and fire damage. The pilot who flew the airplane just prior to the accident flight stated that she experienced no problems with the airplane and that the flaps worked normally during her flight. When interviewed 11 days after the accident, the surviving passenger reported that there were no problems with the airplane during the runup or takeoff. About 8 weeks after the accident, he told his attorney that he recalled that the pilot mentioned before takeoff that the flaps were not working. ## Factual narrative HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 4, 2004, approximately 1530 mountain standard time, a Cirrus SR22 airplane, N1159C, impacted mountainous terrain while maneuvering about 10 nautical miles northeast of Belgrade, Montana. The commercial pilot and two of the three passengers were killed. The other passenger received serious injuries. The airplane, which was registered to Flightline Fractionals Inc. and operated by the pilot, was destroyed. The local personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane departed from Gallatin Field Airport, Belgrade, Montana, at 1518. At the time of the accident, a motor glider was flying near the area where the accident occurred. The pilot of the motor glider was interviewed by the NTSB investigator-in-charge and reported that he was giving a ride to a friend of the pilot of the accident airplane. Prior to departing from Gallatin Field, the motor glider pilot spoke with the pilot of the accident airplane, who told him that he would get the airplane out, takeoff, catch up with the glider and make some "flybys" of the glider. The motor glider pilot said that after takeoff, he remained on the tower frequency and heard the airplane depart. The pilots of both aircraft then tuned their radios to an air-to-air frequency and established communications. The motor glider had shut down and stowed his engine and was soaring north along the western edge of the Bridger mountain range nearing Sacagawea Peak. The airplane made one pass above the glider, circled and made a second pass immediately to the left of the glider. When the airplane passed by the glider, it was "in coordinated flight," with the flaps up, and it was either flying level or descending slightly. The glider pilot watched the airplane continue heading north "straight out in front of him" for about 5 to 10 seconds. Since the glider was losing lift, he then made a turn to the south. At the time the glider pilot last saw the airplane, it was heading towards a transverse "foothills ridge" that runs downward from the summit of Sacagawea Peak (elevation about 9,600 feet) towards the west and then hooks toward the south. There is a peak (elevation about 8,916 feet) on the transverse ridge at the point where it hooks south. According to the glider pilot, this ridge is unique compared to the rest of the transverse ridges coming off the crest of the Bridgers in that it "does not fall away like the rest of the foothills." The combination of the crest of the Bridger range and this transverse ridge form a cirque or bowl that is open to the south and has high terrain to the west, north and east. After gaining altitude, the glider pilot turned back to the north. He then saw a column of black smoke, which was later identified as being from the crash site. The column of smoke was located just south of the 8,916-foot-peak on the transverse ridge. It was 5 minutes between the time the glider pilot last saw the airplane and the time he turned back north and spotted the smoke. The glider pilot reported that the weather was clear blue sky, no turbulence, "no sucking downdrafts," but some "down air" in the area where he last saw the airplane. The glider pilot analyzed the data recorded in the glider's flight logger for his flight on the day of the accident. His analysis indicated that when the airplane passed the glider on its second pass, the glider was at an altitude of about 8,900 feet, had a ground speed of about 57 knots, and the time was about 1529:30. About 90 seconds later, he made his turn back to the south. When he made the turn, he was about 500 yards from the crash site, at altitudes between 9,100 and 9,200 feet, in the bowl formed by the crest of the Bridgers and the transverse ridge. During the turn, he encountered an air mass that was sinking about 100 to 200 feet per minute, and the glider lost about 50 feet of altitude. The surviving passenger was interviewed on December 15, 2004, by the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) and an FAA inspector. The passenger was not a rated pilot or aircraft mechanic, but had gotten involved in working on airplanes when he was in high school. He explained that he flew frequently with different pilots at the airport "when he got the chance." This was his first flight in a Cirrus and his first flight with the pilot. The passenger reported that he was seated in the left rear seat and that all four occupants had headsets on, and they could talk with each other and also hear the transmissions on the airplane's communication radio. He further reported that there were no problems with the airplane during the run up or takeoff. After departing the airport, they headed directly towards the mountains to meet the glider. When they spotted the glider, it was considerably to their left. They crossed behind the glider at its altitude, continued over the crest of the Bridgers and made a "big swooping left turn." They crossed back over the crest of the Bridgers and passed in front of and above the glider. They "had a smooth ride the whole flight. There was very little wind shear even when they crossed over the ridge crest." According to the surviving passenger, the pilot leveled out the airplane, and they turned back to the right to get behind the glider. They were climbing "to bleed off speed." The passenger could not see the glider as they were still in a right bank, and to see the glider, he would have had to be able to see through the roof of the airplane. The airplane was positioned behind and left of the glider, and it was "in a light climb." The stall warning indicator came on in the airplane. When this happened, there was no discussion about it between the pilot and the right front seat passenger, who was also a pilot. The surviving passenger heard the engine pick up speed. The stall warning continued to buzz. The third passenger, who was seated in the right rear seat and who was also a pilot, said, "isn't that your stall buzzer?" and the pilot replied, "yeah." The pilot dropped the nose to level out, and the stall warning indicator stopped sounding. The passenger heard a noise that sounded like the flaps were going down. He looked out and saw that the flaps were not moving. He could not see the pilot moving the flap control; he just heard the noise, there was no conversation about it. The sound he heard was a high-pitched whine, and it sounded like what he had heard during the preflight check. The passenger stated that the left wing dropped and they "started going down hill. It felt like what had happened before during the flight as they turned to stay with the glider. It felt like the airplane was under control." The pilot turned and said, "hang on, we might get a couple of trees on this one." The pilot's tone of voice was "totally normal." At this point, the nose was "somewhat up," the passenger was looking forward, and he could not see trees. It was about 10 to 15 seconds from the time the stall warning horn stopped sounding until they hit the trees. He heard a few bumps like the landing gear was hitting something. Then they hit something hard and he was "slung way forward." His next recollection was waking up laying on bare ground. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot, who was seated in the left front seat, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single and multi-engine land and instrument ratings. Additionally, he held a flight instructor certificate with airplane single engine land and instrument ratings. He held a first class medical certificate dated May 18, 2004, with the limitation, must wear corrective lenses. On the application for his most recent medical certificate, the pilot reported that he had accumulated 1,250 hours total flight time with 400 hours flown in the past six months. On August 29, 2004, the pilot completed a Cirrus factory autho ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1159C](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1159C-2005-09-20), registration cancelled 2005-09-20, S/N 0490, built 2003 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cirrus Design Corp. SR22 - Registry model: [Cirrus Design SR22](https://openairdocs.org/model/cirrus-design-sr22) (registry code 2130001) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-550 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-550-series) (registry code 17042, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 0490 - Airframe hours: 388 - Engines: Teledyne Continental IO550N7B 310 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Brandon J. Speth - Registered owner: Flightline Fractionals, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, November 24, 2004 - Departed: BZN, Belgrade, MT - Airport: BZN, Gallatin Field ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 30; injuries: fatal; commercial, flight engineer; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 1,561 total, 105 in this make and model, 1,478 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 36 °F, dew point 21 °F - Altimeter: 29.68 inHg - Observed at: BZN, 10 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20041204032069A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20041204032069A), Dec 4, 2004: Cirrus SR22, Belgrade, MT, Destroyed, 3 fatal. (-23) On 12/04/04, N1159C, a Cirrus SR-22 impacted mountainous terrain 11 miles NE of Belgrade, MT. The aircraft was piloted by[privacy data omitted] a… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.