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Atlas / NTSB / SEA06CA098

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event SEA06CA098

2006-04-30 Billings, Montana, United States Airport · BIL None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N739AJ

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

CESSNA 172N

Year of manufacture

1978 · 28 years old at event

Engine

LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)

Seats / Engines

4 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19780216

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A9EC83

Registrant of record

REGISTRATION PENDING

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a sign while taxiing to parking.

Factual narrative

On April 30, 2006, about 1600 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N739AJ, collided with a sign while taxiing to parking at the Billings Logan International Airport, Billings, Montana. The airplane, which was registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal cross country flight. The flight originated in Lewiston, Idaho, about 1310, and the intended destination was Billings. According to the pilot, as he was looking to his right to taxi into a parking place on the ramp, the airplane's left wing struck a sign pole. His passenger tried to warn him about the sign, and he applied the brakes, but was unable to stop before contacting the sign. An FAA inspector examined the airplane and reported that the left wing sustained structural damage. According to the pilot, as he was looking to his right to taxi into a parking place on the ramp, the airplane's left wing struck a sign pole. His passenger tried to warn him about the sign, and he applied the brakes, but was unable to stop before contacting the sign. An FAA inspector examined the airplane and reported that the left wing sustained structural damage. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2006_SEA06CA098.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.