Boeing 727-224 incident near Belgrade, Montana, August 12, 1990
On August 12, 1990 at about 3:08 pm local time, a Boeing 727-224, registered N69735, suffered minor damage in an incident near Belgrade, Montana (Gallatin Fld airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 157 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE MALFUNCTION OF THE STARTER CONTROL VALVE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 12, 1990 · about 3:08 pm local time
- Place
- Belgrade, Montana · Gallatin Fld · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 157 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-224 · all 727-224s on the register
- Registration
- N69735 · no longer on the register · serial 20664
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT THE BEGINNING OF A FLIGHT, JUST AFTER TAKEOFF, THE FIRE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED FOR THE NUMBER 3 ENGINE. THE FLIGHT CREW PERFORMED THE APPROPRIATE EMERGENCY PROCEDURES AND RETURNED FOR LANDING. AFTER LANDING, FIRE CREWS EXTINGUISHED THE STILL BURNING FIRE THAT WAS CONFINED TO THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. INSPECTION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED THAT THE STARTER EXPERIENCED AN INFLIGHT FAILURE. THE STARTER CONTROL VALVE WAS EXAMINED AND FOUND TO OPERATE NORMALLY AT THE TIME OF THE INSPECTION.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,000 hours in all; 2,400 in this make and model; 240 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 12,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 48,235 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 10, 1990; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 172,500 lb
- Seats: 158
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-9A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Continental Airlines
The flight
- Destination: DEN Denver CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 12, 4,002 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 30,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 pm from BZN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 150 |
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.