Cessna 414 accident near Billings, Montana, May 24, 1985
On May 24, 1985 at about 8:52 pm local time, a Cessna 414, registered N333AA, was destroyed in an accident near Billings, Montana (Billings Logal Int'L airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
- May 24, 1985 · about 8:52 pm local time
- Place
- Billings, Montana · Billings Logal Int'L · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 414 · all 414s on the register
- Registration
- N333AA · no longer on the register · serial 0476
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS MAKING A SHORT (35 MINUTES) LOCAL FLT TO 'CHECK N333AA OVER' BEFORE TURNING IT OVER TO ITS NEW OWNER. THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND IN A STEEP DESCENT, WINGS LEVEL, ATTITUDE DURING AN ENTRY INTO THE TRAFFIC PATTERN AT BILLINGS, MONTANA. VMC PREVAILED AT THE TIME. WITNESSES SAID THE ENGINES WERE OPERATING AND THERE WAS NO APPARENT ATTEMPT BY THE PLT TO AVOID THE CRASH.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,633 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 26 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,433 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 15, 1985; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,350 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 SER (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BIL Billings MT at 8:17 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 3,800 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:52 pm from BIL, 3 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.