Cessna 188B accident near Sidney, Montana, August 9, 1999
On August 9, 1999 at about 1:45 am local time, a Cessna 188B, registered N9085R, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sidney, Montana (Sidney-Richmond County airport). It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to adequately compensate for wind conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 9, 1999 · about 1:45 am local time
- Place
- Sidney, Montana · Sidney-Richmond County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 188B · all 188Bs on the register
- Registration
- N9085R · registry record · serial 18802106T
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Shortly after departure, the pilot encountered rain showers and thunderstorms and elected to return to the airport. After touchdown, during the landing roll, the aircraft encountered a gust of wind and became uncontrollable. The pilot was unable to maintain directional control and unintentionally ground-looped the aircraft. The weather at the time of the accident, as reported by the pilot, was winds from 280 degrees at 14 knots with gusts to 25 knots and rain showers. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the aircraft at the time of the accident.
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: single-engine land
- Flight time: 3,669 hours in all; 1,222 in this make and model; 344 in the last 90 days; 132 in the last 30 days; 3,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,026 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 23, 1999; 287 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,200 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SDY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 1, 5,705 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 14 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 10,000 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 SEA99LA139.