Beech E18S accident near Butte, Montana, January 27, 1995
On January 27, 1995 at about 5:30 am local time, a Beech E18S, registered N250RP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Butte, Montana. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE IFR PROCEDURE BY NOT MAINTAINING THE PROPER ALTITUDE PRIOR TO THE INITIAL APPRAOCH FIX. FACTORS TO THE ACCIDENT WERE DARK NIGHT CONDITIONS AND A LOW CEILING.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 27, 1995 · about 5:30 am local time
- Place
- Butte, Montana
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech E18S · all E18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N250RP · no longer on the register · serial BA-47
- 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
WHILE PERFORMING AN ILS APPROACH AT NIGHT AND IN IMC, THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TREES IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN PRIOR TO THE IAF. THE MDA PRIOR TO THE IAF IS 10,600 FEET. THE DESCENT ALTITUDE AT THE OM IS 7,713 FEET. THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED UNDER THE LOCALIZER PATH AT AN ELEVATION OF 7,600 FEET. DAMAGE TO TREE TOPS ALONG THE WRECKAGE DISTRIBUTION PATH INDICATES THAT THE AIRPLANE TRAVELLED THROUGH THE TREES ON A LEVEL PLANE UNTIL CONTACT WITH THE GROUND APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET INTO THE PATH. LIGHT SNOW WAS FALLING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT AND VISIBILITY WAS DETERIORATING DUE TO FOG. DURING THE POST CRASH INVESTIGATION, THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE FOUND TO INDICATE A MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,575 hours in all; 2,806 in this make and model; 420 in the last 90 days; 52 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,043 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 19, 1994; 96 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R985-14B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BFI Seattle WA at 2:30 am
- Destination: BTM MT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:37 am from BTM, 17 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.