Helio COURIER accident near Livingston, Montana, October 18, 1984
On October 18, 1984 at about 8:45 pm local time, a Helio COURIER, registered N700HC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Livingston, Montana (Mission airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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 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
- October 18, 1984 · about 8:45 pm local time
- Place
- Livingston, Montana · Mission · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Helio COURIER
- Registration
- N700HC · registry record · serial 1474
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PRIOR TO THE ATTEMPTED TAKEOFF FSS ADVISED THE PLT OF WIND FROM 250 DEG AT 20 GUSTING TO 30 KTS AND INFORMED HIM THAT RWY 26 WOULD BE THE PREFERRED RWY. THE PLT ELECTED TO USE RWY 22. DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL THE RIGHT WING ROSE IN A GUST BUT CONTROL WAS REGAINED. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, AS THE ACFT GOT AIRBORNE THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR AND/OR THE LEFT WINGTIP STRUCK THE GROUND CAUSING THE ACFT TO GROUND LOOP LEFT COLLAPSING THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 822 hours in all; 822 in this make and model; 14 in the last 90 days; 734 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,241 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 17, 1984; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming 11 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LVM at 8:45 pm
- Destination: BIL Billings MT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 5,700 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 20 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft; not recorded at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:40 pm from LVM
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.
Other NTSB records under N700HC the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.