Fairchild Heli-Porter PC6/B2-H2 accident near Gillette, Wyoming, August 26, 1997
On August 26, 1997 at about 9:10 pm local time, a Fairchild Heli-Porter PC6/B2-H2, registered N354F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gillette, Wyoming. It was an other work-use 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
Failure by the pilot in command to follow procedures and retrim the stabilizer for landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 26, 1997 · about 9:10 pm local time
- Place
- Gillette, Wyoming · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild Heli-Porter PC6/B2-H2
- Registration
- N354F · registry record · serial 2010
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work-use flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On returning to land, following dropping a load of skydivers, the pilot failed to reset the stabilizer trim and ran out of elevator during the flare for landing. A hard landing occurred and the left main landing gear collapsed causing substantial damage to the underside of the fuselage.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,100 hours in all; 80 in this make and model; 1,930 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,662 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 22, 1997; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,850 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT-6/27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GCC at 8:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:50 pm from GCC, 4 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.