Amateur-built KR-2 accident near Laurel, Montana, June 22, 1985
On June 22, 1985 at about 1:17 pm local time, a amateur-built KR-2, registered N8483Y, was destroyed in an accident near Laurel, Montana (Laurel airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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
- June 22, 1985 · about 1:17 pm local time
- Place
- Laurel, Montana · Laurel · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built KR-2
- Registration
- N8483Y · no longer on the register · serial 2560
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG A TEST FLT, THE PLT MADE A FAST TAXI RUN, THEN TOOK OFF ON RWY 21. AFTER TAKEOFF, HE MADE A GRADUAL CLIMB & SHALLOW LEFT TURNS TO A DOWNWIND, CIRCLED THE ARPT & REENTERED A DOWNWIND FOR RWY 21. WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE PLT MADE A POWER REDUCTION & BEGAN A SHALLOW BASE TURN. THE LEFT WING THEN DROPPED & THE ACFT ENTERED A SPIN. AFTER SPINNING ABOUT 2/3 OF A TURN, THE ACFT IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A STEEP DSCNT. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FND. THE PLT HAD LOGGED NO FLT TIME FOR KR-2 ACFT; HOWEVER, HE HAD PREVIOUSLY FLOWN N8483Y ON 1/26/84. ON THAT FLT, HE HAD A PROBLEM WITH BEING UNFAMILIAR WITH THE SENSITIVITY OF THE FLT CONTROLS & DECIDED TO ABORT. DURING THE LANDING (ON 1/26/84), THE LANDING GEAR & PROP WERE DAMAGED. TOXICOLOGY TESTS SHOWED THAT THE PLT HAD A BLOOD/ALCOHOL LEVEL OF 47 MG% (0.047%), BUT NO ALCOHOL WAS FND IN HIS URINE. THE AMOUNT OF BLOOD/ALCOHOL DUE TO PUTREFACTION WAS NOT VERIFIED.
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: 701 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 682 as pilot in command; 63 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 17 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 6, 1985; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Revmaster 2100D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 6S8 at 1:10 pm
- Destination: 6S8
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 3,800 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:48 pm from BIL, 11 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.