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Atlas / NTSB / DEN86LA050

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event DEN86LA050

1985-12-18 WIBAUX, Montana, United States Serious 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE PLT STATED THAT LIGHT SNOW WAS FALLING AT THE ARPT AT THE TIME OF DEPARTURE. THE PAX STATED AFTER THE ACCIDENT THAT THE PLT ENCOUNTERED CLOUDS AT THEIR CRUISE ALT OF ABOUT 6000 FT. HE CONTINUED TO STATE THAT THE ACFT MADE A SHALLOW DESCENT AT FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE CLOUDS BUT BECAME VERY STEEP SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE DESCENT. THE ACFT BROKE OUT OF THE CLOUDS AND IMPACTED THE SNOW COVERED FIELD AT A HIGH RATE OF DESCENT AND AIRSPEED. THE PLT DID NOT PERFORM A PREFLIGHT INSPECTION OF THE ACFT, HE DID NOT DEICE THE ACFT PRIOR TO DEPARTURE AND HE DOES NOT HOLD AN INSTRUMENT RATING. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_DEN86LA050.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.