Beech 99 accident near Missoula, Montana, October 17, 1998
On October 17, 1998 at about 8:30 am local time, a Beech 99, registered N299GL, was substantially damaged in an accident near Missoula, Montana (Missoula International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot-in-command's delayed remedial action in response to the co-pilot's improper landing flare, and the co-pilot's application of excessive (full nose-up) trim during the landing flare as taught in the operator's initial aircrew training program. Factors include the co-pilot's improper flare and his lack of total experience in this type of aircraft.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 17, 1998 · about 8:30 am local time
- Place
- Missoula, Montana · Missoula International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 99 · all 99s on the register
- Registration
- N299GL · no longer on the register · serial U-102
- 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 flying a night visual approach, the co-pilot flared too high above the runway. As the aircraft floated down the runway, the speed decreased, and the pilot-in-command took control. Because he felt the aircraft was approaching a stall, he initiated a go-around. During the attempted go-around, the pilot-in-command found it necessary to keep both hands on the control wheel due to the fact that the aircraft had been trimmed to the full nose-up position during the landing flare. Even with both hands on the control wheel, the aircraft became very difficult to control. Although the co-pilot moved the throttles to maximum power and began retraction of the flaps, the pilot-in-command's remedial action had occurred too late to successfully execute the go-around. It was later discovered that during the operator's initial training, both crew members had been taught to apply full nose-up trim after crossing the runway threshold and reducing the power to idle. This action, which the operator eliminated from the landing sequence procedure after this accident, was inconsistent with the instructions in the Beech 99 Pilots Operating Manual.
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 instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,567 hours in all; 667 in this make and model; 221 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days; 4,187 as pilot in command; 2,500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 39,685 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 15, 1998; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-28 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BIL Billings MT at 7:08 am
- Destination: MSO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 29, 9,501 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:56 am from MSO, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.
Other NTSB records under N299GL the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.