Cirrus Design Corp. SR22 accident near Belgrade, MT
On December 4, 2004, a Cirrus Design Corp. SR22 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Belgrade, MT. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 4, 2004
- Place
- Belgrade, MT
- Aircraft
- Cirrus Design Corp. SR22 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 45.888°N, 110.978°W
- NTSB ID
- 20041209X01964
NTSB summary
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
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.
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Browse: Montana · Cirrus aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
