Cessna 180 N9171T

Summary

On 24 April 1983 at about 22:30 local time, a Cessna 180 registered N9171T was involved in an accident near Ft. Smith, Montana, United States. 4 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

24 April 1983 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Ft. Smith, Montana, United States

Coordinates

45.6990, -107.6893

Aircraft

Cessna 180

Registration

N9171T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Hardin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN83LA102

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

AFTER TAKING OFF FROM FT SMITH, THE PLT LEVELED AT 500 FT AGL & FOLLOWED A RIVER TO LOOK AT SOME PROPERTY APRX 5 MI AWAY. WHILE EN ROUTE, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO SPUTTER & RUN IRREGULARILY. HE PERFORMED A SUCCESSFUL PRECAUTIONARY LANDING IN A FIELD WHERE HE MADE A THOROUGH ENGINE RUN-UP & ALL SYSTEMS CHECKED NORMAL. THINKING THAT THE ENGINE MAY HAVE PASSED SOME WATER, HE ELECTED TO TAKEOFF & FLY TO HARDIN, MT. APRX 2 MIN AFTER TAKEOFF, THE ENGINE BEGAN SPUTTERING & RUNNING IRREGULAR AGAIN; HOWEVER, THE PILOT COULD GET NO IMPROVEMENT WHEN HE ATTEMPTED TO RESTORE THE POWER. A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE IN A FIELD BEYOND SOME POWER LINES. WHILE APPLYING HEAVY BRAKES TO STOP BEFORE REACHING A DITCH, THE PLANE NOSED OVER. AN EXAM OF THE ACFT & ENGINE WAS MADE, BUT NO CAUSE FOR THE POWER LOSS WAS FOUND.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.