Swearingen SA226AT accident near Billings, Montana, May 8, 1986
On May 8, 1986 at about 5:45 am local time, a Swearingen SA226AT, registered N577KA, was destroyed in an accident near Billings, Montana (Logan airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. 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
- May 8, 1986 · about 5:45 am local time
- Place
- Billings, Montana · Logan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA226AT · all SA226ATs on the register
- Registration
- N577KA · registry record · serial AT008
- 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
WHILE ON AN IFR FLT PLAN IN IMC, THE PLT EXECUTED A MISSED APPROACH AFTER FLYING A LOCALIZER BACK COURSE 27 APPROACH. DURING A SUBSEQUENT ILS RWY 09L APPROACH, RADIO AND RADAR CONTACT WITH THE ACFT WAS LOST LOST. THE ACFT WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED ON THE INBOUND APPROACH COURSE 1/2 MILE EAST OF THE SAIGE LOCATOR OUTER MARKER. THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT FORCES AND A POST IMPACT FIRE. THE AUTOPSY AND MEDICAL HISTORY OF THE PLT LED TO A CONCLUSION THAT HE WAS INCAPACITATED AT THE TIME OF IMPACT. THE PLTS FLT TIME WAS NOT REPORTED AND HIS LOGS WERE NOT LOCATED.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,950 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, April 28, 1986; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 14
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE331-3U303G (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: HLN Helena MT at 4:27 am
- Destination: BIL Billings MT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9L, 10,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 030° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 am from BIL, 5 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.