Britten-Norman BN-2A-20 accident near Lower Loon, Idaho, October 10, 1986
On October 10, 1986 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Britten-Norman BN-2A-20, registered N25SA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lower Loon, Idaho (Lower Loon airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 10, 1986 · about 6:00 pm local time · cases in 1986
- Place
- Lower Loon, Idaho · Lower Loon
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Britten-Norman BN-2A-20 · all BN-2A-20s on the register
- Registration
- N25SA · registry record · serial 766
- 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 PLT DIVERTED FROM HIS ORIGINAL DESTINATION DUE TO WEATHER. UPON LANDING AT THE ALTERNATE AIRPORT WIHT A 7 KNOT TAIL WIND, WHILE USING HEAVY BRAKING ON WET SOD, THE BRAKES LOCKED. THE ACFT VEERED TO THE RIGHT OF THE CENTER PLACING THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR ON ROUGH TERRAIN WHERE IT COLLAPSED, DRAGGING THE RIGHT WING. THE AIRSTRIP IS ONLY 1100 FEET LONG.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,825 hours in all; 800 in this make and model; 330 in the last 90 days; 5,600 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,920 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,520 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO540K1B5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Mountain Bird, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: SMN Salmon ID at 5:00 pm
- Destination: U54 Bernard Creek ID
- Runway 0, 1,100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 5 knots, gusting 8
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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 N25SA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N25SA on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Britten-Norman BN-2 54 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Britten-Norman 51 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming IO540K1B5 18 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Lemhi County · departed from
- Bernard Usfs Airport · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Idaho 1,535 since 1982 · 288 in the last ten years
- Idaho 4,199 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N25SA 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/SEA87LA010.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.