Beech B99 accident near Missoula, Montana, September 22, 2000
On September 22, 2000 at about 8:20 am local time, a Beech B99, registered N99TH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Missoula, Montana (Missoula International Ai airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of directional control due to a brake locked as a result of snow and ice contamination.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 22, 2000 · about 8:20 am local time
- Place
- Missoula, Montana · Missoula International Ai · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech B99 · all B99s on the register
- Registration
- N99TH · no longer on the register · serial U-155
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane touched down on the centerline of runway 29. When the pilot applied brakes 'the right brake locked up' and the airplane immediately veered to the right. The pilot applied left brake, left rudder and reversed the left propeller, however, the airplane continued to the right. The airplane collided with a taxiway light and runway marker before departing the right side of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. Post-accident photographs of the airplane revealed ice and snow deposits on the cargo pod, right lower engine nacelle, main landing gear strut and right dual brake assembly. The landing runway in Missoula was dry, however, the departure runway at Billings was contaminated with snow and slush. Post-accident inspection of the airplane, by inspectors from the FAA Helena, Montana, Flight Standards District Office, revealed no evidence of system mechanical malfunction that would result in a brake failure.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,696 hours in all; 1,629 in this make and model; 327 in the last 90 days; 116 in the last 30 days; 4,507 as pilot in command; 988 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 36,485 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 19, 2000; 136 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-28 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Alpine Air
The flight
- Departed from: BIL Billings MT at 7:00 am
- Destination: MSO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 29, 9,501 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 090° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:56 am from MSO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N99TH the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.