Cessna 550 N6887Y

Summary

On 18 December 1992 at about 23:45 local time, a Cessna 550 registered N6887Y, operated by Department of Energy (Wapa), was involved in an accident near Billings, Montana, United States. 8 people were on board and 8 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 December 1992 at 23:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Billings, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Billings Logan Intl. (BIL)

Coordinates

45.6492, -108.3793

Aircraft

Cessna 550

Registration

N6887Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Department of Energy (Wapa)

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Watertown → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

SEA93GA041

8 people died.

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.