Cessna 177 accident near Red Lodge, Montana, August 3, 1998
On August 3, 1998 at about 8:03 am local time, a Cessna 177, registered N2213Y, was destroyed in an accident near Red Lodge, Montana. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude over, or clearance with, mountainous terrain during night visual flight rules flight. Factors included night lighting conditions and mountainous terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 3, 1998 · about 8:03 am local time
- Place
- Red Lodge, Montana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177 · all 177s on the register
- Registration
- N2213Y · no longer on the register · serial 17700013
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft departed Wells, Nevada, at 2145 Pacific daylight time on August 2. The pilot did not file a flight plan, and no air traffic services were provided to the flight. The aircraft was reported missing on August 9 and a search was initiated. During the search, the Salt Lake Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) isolated a 1200 beacon code tracking northeast into the accident area between 11,600 and 11,800 feet. The last radar position in this series was recorded approximately 0203 mountain daylight time on August 3, at an altitude of 11,600 feet. The aircraft wreckage was found on August 12 at the 11,900-foot level on the west slope of 12,204-foot Mount Rearguard near Red Lodge, Montana, approximately 1 1/2 nautical miles northeast of the last Salt Lake ARTCC radar position. The accident site was roughly on a line from Wells to Minot, North Dakota, a potential intermediate destination listed in the FAA Alert Notice (ALNOT) on the missing aircraft. Evidence found at the accident site was consistent with a generally straight-and-level impact into the mountainside on a northeasterly track. No evidence of preimpact aircraft mechanical problems was found.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,800 hours in all
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,523 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 1997; 64 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1F6D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LWL Wells NV at 4:45 am
- Destination: Unknown
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:55 am from COD, 38 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.