Cessna 172K accident near Dillon, Montana, October 26, 1998
On October 26, 1998 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172K, registered N736VR, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dillon, Montana. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot-in-command's failure to maintain directional control. Contributing factors were rough terrain and crosswind conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 26, 1998 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Dillon, Montana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172K · all 172Ks on the register
- Registration
- N736VR · registry record · serial R1722826
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 200-hour student pilot-in-command reported that while landing on a dirt road with a crosswind, the aircraft got off to one side of the road into uneven terrain, during which the nose wheel hit a rut and the right wing struck an embankment. He also reported in a telephonic interview with an FAA inspector that 'he really goofed up and (the) accident was his own fault.'
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: student
- Flight time: 200 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 158 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,244 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-360-K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DLN Dillon MT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from DLN
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number SEA99LA008.