- Date
- December 18, 1992, 16:45 local (23:45 UTC)
- Place
- Billings, MT
- Injuries
- 8 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6887YCessna 550
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report December 9, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19921218050929A
- Case key
- 42941
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-in-command's failure to follow established vortex avoidance procedures, as published in the airman's information manual, to provide his own wake turbulence separation.
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
During descent into Billings, the citation was sequenced behind a Boeing 757, and both airplanes were eventually cleared for visual approaches. About 1-1/2 mi from the runway the citation was observed to roll rapidly to the inverted position & descend almost vertically into the ground. According to ATC transcripts and the airplanes's cockpit voice recorder, the crew of the citation had maintained visual awareness of the position of the B-757 throughout the approach. At the time of the upset, the vertical separation between airplanes was 600-1000 ft, and the horizontal separation was decreasing below 2.6 mi. One of the citation captain's last comments was 'almost ran over a seven fifty seven.' Winds were 5 KTS.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6887Y
- Reported as
- Cessna 550
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 550-0293
- Airframe hours
- 5,275
- Engine
- P&W JT15D-4, 2,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Public aircraft · Public use
- Operator
- Department Of Energy (Wapa)
- Registered owner
- Department Of Energy (Wapa)
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · November 6, 1992 · 45 hours before
- Departed
- ATY · Watertown, SD
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- BIL · Billings Logan Intl., runway 27R, 10,528 × 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
- 39
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 6,200 total · 4,415 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 350° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 1 °F, dew point 5 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BIL, 1 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.