Grumman G-159C incident near Gillette, Wyoming, June 8, 1982
On June 8, 1982 at about 11:24 pm local time, a Grumman G-159C, registered N159AN, was involved in an incident near Gillette, Wyoming (Gilette-Campbell County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 29 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 8, 1982 · about 11:24 pm local time
- Place
- Gillette, Wyoming · Gilette-Campbell County · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 29 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman G-159C
- Registration
- N159AN · registry record · serial 116
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS ON A SCHEDULED, DOMESTIC, PAX FLT. THE COPLT WAS THE COMPANY'S CHIEF PLT AND WAS FLYNG THE ACFT FROM THE LEFT SEAT. HE WAS UNDER SUPERVISION OF THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND (PIC) WHO WAS IN THE RT SEAT. DRG ARRIVAL, THE CREW ELECTED TO MAKE A LOCALIZER-ONLY APCH TO RWY 33 WHICH WAS WET. JUST PRIOR TO LNDG, THE WIND WAS REPORTED FROM 280 DEG AT 15 KNTS. (ACCORDING TO AN OFFICIAL WX OBS AT 1736 MDT, THE WIND WAS FROM 290 DEG AT 17, GSTG 25 KTS.) REPORTEDLY, THE LNDG APCH & TCHDWN WERE NORMAL. AT APRX 90 KTS, GROUND FIND FINE PITCH (GFP) WAS SELECTED & THE ACFT VEERED TO THE LEFT. NOSE WHL STEERING & RUDDER WERE RPRTD AS NIL. THE PIC ASSUMED CONTROL, BUT THE ACFT WENT OFF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RWY BFR HE WAS ABLE TO STOP THE SWERVE AND PARALLEL THE RWY. THERE WAS NO DNG OR INJURY. DURING AN INVESTIGATION, THE LEFT ENGINE WAS FOUND TO IDLE AT 8000 RPM, THE RGT ENGINE IDLED AT 9000 RPM. THE RECOMMENDED IDLE SPEED WAS 6500 TO 7500 RPM.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 4,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,181 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 36,000 lb
- Seats: 37
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls Royce DART 529-8Z (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: U.S. Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: SHR Sheridan WY at 4:40 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 33, 6,507 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,100 ft; scat at 800 ft
- Temperature: 108°F (42°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:36 pm from GCC
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 26 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.