Cessna 177B N30921

Summary

On 9 October 2003 at about 23:20 local time, a Cessna 177B registered N30921 was involved in an accident near Chinook, Montana, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 October 2003 at 23:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Chinook, Montana, United States

Coordinates

48.5103, -109.2742

Aircraft

Cessna 177B

Registration

N30921

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Great Falls → Poplar

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA04FA003

2 people died.

The total loss of engine power in cruise flight due to the separation of the carburetor from its mounting bolts, and the pilot's failure to adequately compensate for strong crosswinds while attempting the subsequent forced landing. Additional factors include strong crosswinds, a tree immediately adjacent to the gravel road that the pilot chose to land on, and the pilot's impairment due to recent use of Marihuana.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While in cruise flight the aircraft suddenly lost all engine power, and after unsuccessfully attempting to get the engine restarted, the pilot attempted a forced landing on a nearby gravel road. During that attempt, the pilot failed to adequately compensate for strong crosswinds, and therefore inadvertently clipped the top of a tree that was located immediately adjacent to the approach end of the section of road he was trying to land upon. A post-accident inspection of the engine determined that the carburetor had separated from the engine in cruise flight, due to the fact that there were no longer any nuts on any of the four carburetor mount retaining lug bolts. The carburetor mounting flange holes all remained intact, and none of the four mounting bolts showed any signs of damaged or distorted threads. Recent use of Marihuana was determined to have impaired the pilot's judgment at the time he was attempting the forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.