Aero Commander 500-B accident near Miles City, Montana, March 31, 1984
On March 31, 1984 at about 9:03 am local time, a Aero Commander 500-B, registered N743W, was destroyed in an accident near Miles City, Montana (Frank Wiley airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- March 31, 1984 · about 9:03 am local time
- Place
- Miles City, Montana · Frank Wiley · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Aero Commander 500-B · all 500-Bs on the register
- Registration
- N743W · no longer on the register · serial 500B117389
- 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
THE PLT SAID THAT WHEN HE CALLED ON THE RADIO PRIOR TO THE APPROACH FOR AN ALTIMETER SETTING THE REPLY WAS '30.11 OR 30.12, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.' THE ACFT ALTIMETER WAS FOUND AFTER THE ACCIDENT SET AT 30.22 INCHES OF MERCURY. THE VISIBILITY WAS DESCRIBED AS 1 AND 1/2 MILES IN SNOW SHOWERS. HE CONTINUED THE APPROACH 'BECAUSE MINIMUMS ARE ONE MILE.' HE DESCENDED OUTBOUND TO 4500 FT. MINIMUM PROCEDURE TURN ALT IS 4700 FT MSL. THE PLT THEN DESCENDED TO 3700 FT MSL AS HEAPPROACHED THE VOR. POWER WAS REDUCED TO 17-18 INCHES OF MANIFOLD PRESSURE AND AIRSPEED REDUCED TO 120 KTS. AS THE VOR WAS CROSSED HE GLANCED AT THE ALTIMETER AND 'THE HANDS WERE IN THE TWO O'CLOCK POSITION.' LANDING GEAR WAS EXTENDED AND APPROACH FLAPS SET. THE PLT SAID ALL SEEMED NORMAL. HE LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW AND SAW 'WISPY CLOUDS GOING BY RAPIDLY. THEN THERE WERE THE SOUNDS OF IMPACT.' THE NEXT THING REMEMBERED WAS THE SOUND OF DRIPPING GASOLINE. THE PLT SAID HE CRAWLED OUT OF THE COCKPIT WINDOW AND WANDERED 'FOR A COUPLE HOURS TRYING TO CHASE DOWN THE SEARCH LIGHTS.'
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,750 hours in all; 394 in this make and model; 199 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days; 2,131 as pilot in command; 504 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,453 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 23, 1984; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-B1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BIL Billings MT at 8:07 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 12, 5,602 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 100° at 12 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:09 am from MLS, 2 miles away
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.