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SEA91FA046

1991-02-02 · COLSTRIP, Montana, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport M46

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE TERRAIN CLEARANCE. FACTORS RELATING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE PILOT'S LACK OF TOTAL NIGHT FLIGHT EXPERIENCE, HIS LACK OF RECENT NIGHT FLIGHT EXPERIENCE, THE DARK NIGHT LIGHT CONDITIONS, AND THE MOUNTAINOUS/HILLY TERRAIN IN THE AREA.

Factual narrative

THE ACFT IMPACTED A RIDGELINE ON DOWNWIND IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN WHILE THE PILOT WAS ON A NIGHT CURRENCY TRAINING FLIGHT AT A RECENTLY OPENED LIGHTED AIRPORT. THE PILOT HAD 4 HOURS TOTAL NIGHT FLIGHT TIME, WITH .8 HOURS PIC, ALL FLOWN DURING INITIAL PILOT TRAINING IN 1984. HE HAD NO RECORDED NIGHT FLIGHT TIME SINCE. HE WAS NOT INSTRUMENT RATED AND HAD NO INSTRUMENT FLIGHT TIME. THE AIRPORT IS LOCATED IN AN UNPOPULATED MOUNTAINOUS AREA WITH VERY LITTLE ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. THERE WAS NO NATURAL ILLUMINATION AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_SEA91FA046.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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