Piper PA-30-160 accident near Kalispell, Montana, August 20, 1990
On August 20, 1990 at about 3:24 am local time, a Piper PA-30-160, registered N8556Y, was destroyed in an accident near Kalispell, Montana (Kalispell City airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO FLARE THE AIRCRAFT FOR LANDING AND TO MAINTAIN ITS CONTROL DURING THE ATTEMPTED GO-AROUND (ABORTED LANDING). FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS, A NUMBER OF RUNWAY EDGE LIGHTS THAT WERE EITHER INOPERATIVE OR HIDDEN BY VEGEGATION, RAIN, REDUCED VISUAL CUES, THE PILOT'S LACK OF RECENT NIGHT FLYING EXPERIENCE, AND HIS FAILURE TO ATTAIN PROPER RUNWAY ALIGNMENT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 20, 1990 · about 3:24 am local time
- Place
- Kalispell, Montana · Kalispell City · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-30-160 · all PA-30-160s on the register
- Registration
- N8556Y · no longer on the register · serial 30-1703
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT MADE A VFR APCH TO LND AT NGT ON RWY 31. ACCORDING TO WITNESS(ES), THERE WAS A TSTM SOUTH OF THE ARPT, BUT AT THE ARPT, THE WND WAS LGT & ONLY LGT RAIN WAS FALLING. AS THE PLT WAS LNDG, THE ACFT IMPACTED ON THE APCH END OF THE RWY, THEN BECAME AIRBORNE & IMPACTED AGAIN, FURTHER DOWN THE RWY. AN EXAM REVEALED THAT INITIAL IMPACT WAS 29' FM THE THRESHOLD. THE INITIAL SCRAPE MARK WAS ANGLED 10 DEG RIGHT OF THE RWY HDG. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THE LEFT WING TIP CONTACTED THE RWY NR THE APCH END, THEN THE TIPS OF THE LEFT PROP BLADES STRUCK THE RWY. THE ACFT THEN BECAME AIRBORNE & CRASHED INVERTED AFTER TRAVELING ABOUT 613' DOWN THE RWY. THE BLADE TIPS OF BOTH PROPS WERE TWISTED & CURLED; THERE WERE SLASH MARKS ON THE RWY FROM BOTH PROPS AT THE 2ND IMPACT POINT, WHERE THE ACFT HAD IMPACTED IN AN INVERTED ATTITUDE. OF 62 RWY EDGE LGTS, 20 WERE INOP OR BROKEN & 2 WERE NOT VISIBLE DUE TO TALL VEGETATION. THE LAST RECORDED NGT TIME IN THE PLT'S LOG WAS DATED 5/5/81.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,344 hours in all; 180 in this make and model; 1,280 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,625 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 6, 1990; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,725 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-320-C1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PWT Bremerton WA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31, 3,600 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 9,000 ft; scat at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 am from FCA, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.
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.