Piper PA-18-150 accident near Whitewater, Montana, March 28, 1990
On March 28, 1990 at about 2:20 pm local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N7134K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Whitewater, Montana. 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
PILOT'S DELAYED USE OF CARBURETOR HEAT AND THE SUBSEQUENT INDUCTION ICING RELATED PARTIAL POWER LOSS. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE THE CARBURETOR ICING CONDITIONS AND THE UNSUITABLE TERRAIN IN WHICH THE FORCED LANDING WAS PERFORMED.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 28, 1990 · about 2:20 pm local time
- Place
- Whitewater, Montana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
- Registration
- N7134K · registry record · serial 18-352
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PRIVATE PILOT ENCOUNTERED FREEZING FOG AND HAZE, REDUUCING THE VISIBILITY TO THREE MILES. HE TURNED BACK TO LAND BUT THE ENGINE BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH. HE ADDED CARBURETOR HEAT BUT THE ENGINE BECAME ROUGHER AND REDUCED TO PARTIAL POWER. THE PILOT SELECTED A RIDGE IN ROUGH TERRAIN AND MADE A FORCED LANDING. AT TOUCHDOWN, THE TAIL LIFTED AND THE PLANE NOSED OVER. THE VERTICAL STABILIZER, ELEVATOR, WINGS, COWLING AND FIREWALL WERE BENT. DURING A POSTACCIDENT ENGINE RUN THE ENGINE OPERATED NORMALLY AND RAN FOR FIVE MINUTES.
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: 480 hours in all; 480 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE at 2:00 pm
- Destination: NONE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DEN90LA082.