- Date
- June 24, 2007, 12:01 local (18:01 UTC)
- Place
- Bozeman, MT
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N1316DCessna 170A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 30, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20070624009829A
- Case key
- 66066
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 inadequate visual lookout and failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and uncontrolled descent into terrain while manuevering to avoid the transmission lines. The sun glare was a factor.
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 pilot reported that he was flying the airplane over a family member's ranch in a low-altitude, slow flight configuration. He proceeded northbound attempting to regain airspeed when he noticed transmission lines that had previously been visually obstructed to him by the sun. The pilot pulled back on the control yoke attempting to avoid the lines, but the airplane stalled and descended uncontrolled to the ground. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical abnormalities to preclude normal operation of the airplane prior to the accident.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he was flying the airplane over a family member's ranch in a low-altitude, slow flight configuration. He proceeded northbound attempting to regain airspeed when he noticed transmission lines that had previously been visually obstructed to him by the sun. The pilot pulled back on the control yoke attempting to avoid the lines, but the airplane stalled and descended uncontrolled to the ground. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical abnormalities to preclude normal operation of the airplane prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1316D
- Reported as
- Cessna 170A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 19892
- Engine
- Teledyne Continental C145, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- LVM · Livingston, MT
- Destination
- 735 · Tekoa, WA
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
- 66
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight engineer, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 6,500 total · 1,200 in this make and model · 18 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 4 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.84 inHg
- Observed at
- BZN, 18 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.