Beechcraft 58P N181AM

Summary

On 23 December 2003 at about 03:00 local time, a Beechcraft 58P registered N181AM, operated by U.S. Forest Service, was involved in an accident near Missoula, Montana, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 December 2003 at 03:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Missoula, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Missoula International (MSO)

Coordinates

46.9000, -114.0953

Aircraft

Beechcraft 58P

Registration

N181AM

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

U.S. Forest Service

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Missoula → Redmond

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

SEA04LA029

1 person had minor injuries.

The second pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance while maneuvering after takeoff. Proper climb rate not verified by the flight crew, fog, freezing fog, dark night conditions and inadequate supervision by the pilot-in-command were factors.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Shortly after take off during night instrument meteorological conditions, the second pilot, who had no previous flight time in this make and model aircraft and was the flying pilot, reported that he made a right turn from runway heading at about 400 to 500 feet above ground level to intercept the outbound radial from the VOR to accomplish the departure procedure. During the turn, a "thump" was felt and the right bank angle increased from about 25 degrees to 45 degrees. While the second pilot was attempting to correct from the increased bank angle, the aircraft at some point, entered a descent. Just before ground impact to open terrain about one mile south of the runway, the pilot-in-command took control of the aircraft to level the wings. The aircraft skipped across the open terrain for several hundred yards before coming to rest on its belly. The aircraft was consumed by fire shortly thereafter. Neither pilot could explain the loss of altitude as both believed they were in a continuous climb during the event as airspeed and pitch attitude remained constant. Neither pilot could recall if they scanned the vertical speed indicator or altimeter to verify if they were indicating a climb or descent. During the post accident inspection of the aircraft, no evidence of a mechanical failure or malfunction was found and no evidence of an in flight collision with an object was noted. At the time of the accident, low freezing fog and visibility was reported.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.