Great Lakes 2T-1A accident near Bozeman, Montana, August 13, 1987
On August 13, 1987 at about 6:05 pm local time, a Great Lakes 2T-1A, registered N313Y, was destroyed in an accident near Bozeman, Montana (Edsall airport). It was a personal 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
- August 13, 1987 · about 6:05 pm local time
- Place
- Bozeman, Montana · Edsall · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Great Lakes 2T-1A · all 2T-1As on the register
- Registration
- N313Y · no longer on the register · serial 200
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
74-YEAR-OLD PLT WAS PERFORMING AEROBATICS AT SMALL ARPT FOR LOCAL TV NEWS STATION TO PROMOTE WEEKEND AIRSHOW. PLT MADE RIGHT & LEFT PASS, EACH PASS CONSISTING OF SHALLOW DESCENT, PULLUP FROM APRX 150 TO 200 FT AGL, & SLOW ROLL. PLT BEGAN THIRD PASS FROM STRAIGHT & LEVEL ATTITUDE & ROLLED ACFT INVERTED. AT 180 DEG POINT, ACFT YAWED 30 DEG LEFT OF RWY CENTERLINE. AS ACFT ROLLED PAST 270 DEG POINT, IT SIDE-SLIPPED, LOST ALT RAPIDLY, & COLLIDED WITH TELEPHONE POLE, GUY WIRE, & COMMERCIAL BUILDING. PLT EXPIRED APRX 31 HRS LATER. NO EVIDENCE OF PRE-IMPACT MECHANICAL FAILURE/MALFUNCTION OF ACFT, ENG, PROP, OR FLT CONTROLS FOUND. AUTOPSY & TOXICOLOGY RESULTS WERE NEGATIVE. WX WAS VFR. PLT HAD INNER EAR INFECTION IN LATE 1983. DOCTOR LATER DIAGNOSED IT AS 'BENIGN POSITIONAL PAROXYSMAL VERTIGO.' PLT WAS REPORTEDLY SYMPTOMATIC UP TO TIME OF ACCIDENT.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 23,933 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 23,764 as pilot in command; 8,031 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,446 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 10, 1987; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,618 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Warner R-500-7 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BZN Belgrade MT at 6:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 2,600 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:18 pm from BZN, 7 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.