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SEA92LA031

1991-12-26 · MISSOULA, Montana, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MSO

N6408P has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (LEZA-LOCKWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIR CAM, built 0000), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S POOR IN-FLIGHT DECISION, FAILURE TO PERFORM A MISSED APPROACH, AND IMPROPER ALTITUDE. FACTORS INCLUDE POOR PREFLIGHT PLANNING/PREPARATION, AND WEATHER CONDITIONS BELOW APPROACH MINIMUMS.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT OF A PIPER PA-24 IMPACTED THE TERRAIN WHILE ATTEMPTING TO EXECUTE AN ILS APPROAH DURING WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT WERE BELOW MINIMUMS. THE PILOT, WHO HAD DEPARTED WITHOUT FIRST GETTING A WEATHER BRIEFING, STATED THAT HE WAS LOW ON FUEL. HE HAD ALREADY ATTEPMTED THE APPROACH TWICE, BEFORE LOOKING FOR AN ALTERNATE IN THE SURROUNDING AREA. SINCE HE WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE AN ALTERNATE WITHIN FUEL RANGE, HE ELECTED TO ATTEMPT THE APPROACH, EVEN THOUGH HE KNEW IT WAS BELOW MINIMUMS. THE PILOT DESCENDED BELOW DECISION HEIGHT, AN EVENTUALLY IMPACTED THE TERRAIN. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_SEA92LA031.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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