Cessna T210M accident near Sidney, Montana, February 7, 1984
On February 7, 1984 at about 3:25 pm local time, a Cessna T210M, registered N7399M, was destroyed in an accident near Sidney, Montana. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. 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 accident. 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
- February 7, 1984 · about 3:25 pm local time
- Place
- Sidney, Montana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210M · all T210Ms on the register
- Registration
- N7399M · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
RICHLAND FLT #101, A BANK CHECK COURIER FLT, DEPARTED VFR WITH 180 LBS OF CARGO. SIX MINUTES PRIOR TO THE CRASH, THE LAST RADIO TRANSMISSION FROM THE ACFT WAS HEARD CONCERNING A ROUTINE LANDING WX ADVISORY. THE ACFT CRASHED APRX 45 DEGS NOSE LOW, GEAR & FLAPS UP IN FLAT, OPEN TERRAIN. A 5 DAY HISTORY ON THE PLT REVEALED THAT HER FOOD INTAKE WAS ERRATIC AND THAT SHE WAS ON A HECTIC SCHEDULE. HER FOOD INTAKE AND AMT OF REST IN THE 24 HRS PRECEEDING THE ACCIDENT IS UNKNOWN.A RELATIVE STATED THAT SHE WAS PSYCHOLOGICALLY WELL ADJUSTED. CONCERNING THE WRECKAGE, CONTROL CONTINUITY COULD NOT BE CONFIRMED DUE TO FIRE DAMAGE. AN EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE DID NOT REVEAL ANY EVIDENCE OF A PRE-IMPACT MALFUNCTION. THE FOLLOWING AUTOPILOT MODE LIGHT BULBS HAD STRECHED FILAMENTS: ALT (UPPER), HDG (UPPER), FD (UPPER), VOR, NAV (UPPER), AP (UPPER) AND BC (UPPER). LASTLY, AN AUTOPSY REVEALED THAT THE RADIO MICROPHONE WAS IN THE PLT'S RIGHT HAND AT IMPACT.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,486 hours in all; 485 in this make and model; 105 in the last 90 days; 65 in the last 30 days; 1,315 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,593 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, February 1, 1983; 49 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Richland Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: GDV Glendive MT
- Destination: SDY Sidney MT
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 400 ft
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.