Cessna 170 accident near Sidney, Montana, September 10, 2016
On September 10, 2016 at about 7:00 pm local time, a 1952 Cessna 170, registered N8335A, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Sidney, Montana (Sidney-Richland Municipal Airp airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing, and the flight instructor’s inability to recover the airplane, which resulted in a runway excursion.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 10, 2016 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Sidney, Montana · Sidney-Richland Municipal Airp · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 170 B, built 1952 · all 170s on the register
- Registration
- N8335A · registry record · serial 25187
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor reported that, during the instructional flight in a tailwheel-equipped airplane, the student pilot bounced the landing. The airplane bounced off the grass airstrip, and the flight instructor took the flight controls, but the airplane drifted to the left and into a drainage ditch. The flight instructor reported that he corrected with right rudder application to ease the airplane out of the ditch, but the left landing gear tire deflated, and the left wing and the tail struck the ground. The airplane yawed to the left, the instructor corrected the yaw, and the airplane rolled onto the runway and stopped. The left wing, left aileron, and the elevator sustained substantial damage. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have prevented normal operation.
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
What happened, in order
- Runway excursion during landing (flare/touchdown)
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Student/instructed pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Instructor/check pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Landing flare › Not attained/maintained
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 50 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 13,000 as pilot in command; 1,200 on instruments
- Last flight review: November 8, 2014
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 60 hours in all; 6 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 18 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,089 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 26, 2016
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C-145-2 (piston); 4,081 hours total
- Operator: Frontier Heating Refrigeration And Air Conditionin
The flight
- Departed from: PO1 Poplar MT at 6:10 pm
- Destination: SDY Sidney MT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 4,024 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 6:56 pm from KSDY, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on March 16, 2017. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos (Courtesy of FAA) | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.