Beechcraft C24R N3729T

Summary

On 25 November 1995 at about 22:54 local time, a Beechcraft C24R registered N3729T was involved in an accident near Bozeman, Montana, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 November 1995 at 22:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Bozeman, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Gallatin Field (BZN)

Coordinates

45.7695, -110.9301

Aircraft

Beechcraft C24R

Registration

N3729T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lewiston → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA96FA024

2 people died.

failure of the pilot to follow the specified approach track (proper IFR procedure), and his associated failure to maintain altitude or clearance from mountainous terrain. Factors relating to the accident were: the pilot's failure to abide by the aircraft owner's (dispatch) procedures, heavy snowfall, mountainous terrain, and possible pilot impairment from altitude hypoxia.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight was on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan and had been cleared by air traffic control (ATC) for an instrument landing system (ILS) approach. The aircraft owner, along with the flight instructor, who completed the pilot's instrument training as well as his checkout in the accident aircraft, stated that they had instructed the pilot not to fly the accident aircraft in IFR conditions. The airplane was flown at an altitude of 13,000 feet for 32 minutes before commencing the approach, and it was not equipped with supplemental oxygen or cabin pressurization. The pilot failed to follow the specified ground track for the approach, and the airplane impacted mountainous terrain about 13-1/2 nautical miles north-northeast of the airport in heavy snow conditions. The accident site was approximately 15-1/2 nautical miles beyond the point where a turn onto the localizer was specified on the approach procedure. The airport did not have a control tower or approach control radar, and the airplane was not in radar contact with ATC at the time of the accident. A hunter near the accident site saw an airplane fly over his position at low altitude in heavy snowfall. He heard a loud metallic 'clank' about 20 to 30 seconds after the airplane disappeared from his view. Also, he noted the time on his watch, which corresponded to the estimated time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.