# NTSB SEA98LA112: Aviat Husky A-1, N7XJ, Triple R Ranch, MT, June 28, 1998 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 27, 1998, 20:00 local (Jun 28, 1998, 02:00 UTC) - Place: Triple R Ranch, MT - Coordinates: 45.700038, -110.530914 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.7000&lon=-110.5309&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 11, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 42811 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA98LA112 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/42811/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA112 ## Probable cause The pilot's misjudgment of distance and his failure to initiate a go-around. A factor was the high density altitude. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, landing - aborted - weather condition - high density altitude (contributing factor) - object - fence - go-around - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - distance - misjudged, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis While performing touch-and-go landings on the 1,100 foot gravel airstrip, the pilot landed long, and did not lift off again until he was near the departure end of the runway. After liftoff, the pilot attempted to get the aircraft to climb fast enough to miss the fence just off the end of the runway. The density altitude was 7,800 feet. ## Factual narrative On June 27, 1998, approximately 2000 mountain daylight time, an Aviat Husky A-1, N7XJ, collided with a fence at a private airstrip on the Triple R Ranch, about 14 miles south of Livingston, Montana. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured, but the aircraft, which was owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed Bozeman, Montana, about an hour earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed, and the ELT, which was activated by the impact, was turned off at the scene. According to the pilot, after he arrived at the Triple R Ranch strip, he elected to perform a few touch-and-go landings prior to terminating the flight. He said that the first two went fine, but that on the third one, he landed long and didn't get the aircraft airborne until it was near the end of the runway. Knowing that there was a fence just off the end of the runway, the pilot tried to get the aircraft to climb at a rate that would clear the fence, but the aircraft would not climb fast enough to clear it and struck one of the fence posts. A post-accident calculation determined that the density altitude at the time of the accident was approximately 7,800 feet. The length of the gravel runway was 1,100 feet. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N7XJ](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N7XJ), registered now, S/N 1387, built 1997 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AVIAT HUSKY A-1 - Registry model: [Aviat A-1](https://openairdocs.org/model/aviat-a-1) (registry code 2210400) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-360-A1D](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-360-a1d) (registry code 41504, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 1387 - Airframe hours: 52 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A1D 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Randolph V. Peterson - Registered owner: Lrc Credit Corp. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: BZN, BOZEMAN, MT - Airport: Triple R Ranch, runway 36, 1,100 × 30 ft, gravel ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 47; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: front; flight hours: 800 total, 40 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 360° at 10 knots - Visibility: 50 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F ## 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 19980628015209A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980628015209A), Jun 28, 1998: Chris A1, Livingston, MT, Substantial damage. Tried t oabort long landing on uphill runway. Struck perimeter fence. Flaps full down. (.4)while performing touch-and-go landings on the 1,100 foot gravel… 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.