Cessna 182M N71450
15 June 2025 · Willow Creek, Montana, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 15 June 2025 at about 17:00 local time, a Cessna 182M registered N71450 was involved in an accident near Willow Creek, Montana, United States. 5 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 17:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Willow Creek, Montana, United States
- Coordinates
- 45.8229, -111.6989
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182M
- Registration
- N71450
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1969
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Skydiving
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Three Forks → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- WPR25LA176
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Probable cause
The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection and fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
According to the pilot, he did not visually confirm the quantity of fuel in the fuel tanks before departure. While about 3,500 ft above ground level the engine began to lose power. Subsequently, the engine lost all power, and the pilot turned back toward the departure airport. The pilot realized that the airplane would not be able to glide to the departure airport and attempted to land on a nearby grass runway. Unable to land on the grass runway due to obstacles, the pilot initiated a forced landing to a field. During the landing, the airplane struck a metal cattle gate, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing lift strut, horizontal stabilizer, and elevator. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. During aircraft recovery, both left and right wing fuel tanks were found to be empty; no evidence of a breach in either fuel tank was noted.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 182 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 May 2025 | Cessna 182 | Montgomery, Alabama, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 4 Jul 2025 | Cessna 182B | Belen, New Mexico, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 8 Jan 2025 | Cessna 182H | Harvard, Illinois, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 3 Oct 2025 | Cessna 182RG | Cottonville, Iowa, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 29 Oct 2025 | Cessna 182Q | Mapleton, Iowa, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 29 Sep 2025 | Cessna 182A | Avalon, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
All 6,261 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Jun 2025 | Piper PA-24-260 | West Yellowstone, Montana, United States | MJC Limited LLC | No injuries | - |
| 6 Jan 2025 | Piper PA-18-150 | Red Rock, Montana, United States | State of Montana | No injuries | - |
| 9 Dec 2025 | Maule M-5-210C | Eureka, Montana, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 26 Aug 2025 | Bell Textron Canada 407 | Lincoln, Montana, United States | Life Flight Network | No injuries | - |
| 30 May 2025 | Weatherly 620B | Lewiston, Montana, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 18 Jul 2025 | Piper PA-28-180 | West Yellowstone, Montana, United States | - | Fatal | 3 |