# NTSB WPR25LA047: Cessna A185F, N9533H, Lewistown, MT, November 23, 2024

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report
- Date: November 23, 2024, 14:40 local (21:40 UTC)
- Place: Lewistown, MT · Open field
- Coordinates: 46.750125, -108.88004
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.7501&lon=-108.8800&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 2 uninjured
- Status: Completed
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: Federal Aviation Administration
- NTSB case key (mKey): 195554
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR25LA047
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/195554/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=195554
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA047

## Probable cause

The pilot’s inadvertent impact with a rock during a landing on a grass strip.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Object/animal/substance: debris/dirt/foreign object](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022055): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Effect on equipment (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna A185F, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022055/cases.md?model=2072821), [All aircraft, 101 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022055/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Landing-landing roll: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna A185F, 7 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md?model=2072821), [All aircraft, 1,556 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The pilot of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that while landing on an off-airport airstrip with a grass/turf surface, the right main landing gear rolled over a rock, which then dislodged from the ground. The rock then struck the empennage which resulted in substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer and elevator. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N9533H](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9533H), registered now, S/N 18503446, built 1977 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA A185F
- Registry model: [Cessna A185F](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-a185f) (registry code 2072821) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 18503446
- Year built: 1977
- Airframe hours: 3775
- Engines: Continental IO-520-D-172B 300 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: Annual, April 1, 2024
- Departed: LWT, Lewistown, MT
- Destination: Priv, Lewistown, MT
- Equipment: Auto-pilot, Stall warning system, ADS-B

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 56; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review September 16, 2023; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 2,725 total, 2,400 in this make and model, 2,725 as pilot in command

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 210° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Temperature: 34 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observed at: KBTM
- METAR: METAR KBTM 242153Z AUTO 21005KT 10SM FEW047 SCT060 01/M08 A2995 RMK AO2 SLP167 T00111078=

## 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 20241123017989A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20241123017989A), Nov 23, 2024: Cessna A185F, Lewistown, MT, Substantial damage. Description of the accident: On November 25, 2024, a privately operated Cessna A185F aircraft, with one pilot and one passenger on board, landed on a private…

## Other investigations on N9533H (1)

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.

- [NTSB SEA79FYE41](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA79FYE41), Aug 28, 1979: Cessna A185F (N9533H), Renton, WA, substantial damage

## Docket (2 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 22, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=195554. 4.3 MB in all.

- Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 3.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18163838&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%206120.1_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Photos (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 750 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18164273&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photos%20for%20WPR25LA047-Rel.pdf

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.