What happened
The pilot decided to land en route due to worsening weather conditions. At 0803, he contacted Billings Flight Service Station and was advised that the weather at Billings consisted of broken clouds at 5,000 feet. Six minutes later, at 0809, he called Billings Approach Control to report he was 20 miles from the airport. While en route to the airport, the pilot was unable to locate the airfield due to the weather until 0818, when the tower cleared him to land on runway 4.
The aircraft touched down approximately two-thirds of the way down the runway but skidded off the pavement at a point where the ground dropped off abruptly. The aircraft became airborne again for another 130 feet before impacting the ground in a near-vertical attitude. During the approach, the pilot was instructed to descend to 4,000 feet, while the airport elevation is 3,649 feet. At no time during the rapidly deteriorating weather conditions were special weather observations taken.
The investigation
The investigation revealed that the pilot never mentioned receiving the Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) information, which indicated winds from the southwest. Neither Approach Control nor the tower advised the pilot of the downwind conditions. The Cessna 172 was destroyed upon impact. The pilot was fatal. No other individuals were injured.
Findings
Contributing factors included the pilot's decision to continue the approach in deteriorating weather without adequate situational awareness of wind conditions. The failure to utilize available ATIS information and the lack of specific wind advisories from air traffic control further complicated the landing attempt. The abrupt terrain drop-off beyond the runway end contributed to the severity of the accident.
Safety message
Pilots are reminded to actively monitor weather updates and utilize all available information sources, including ATIS, to maintain situational awareness during approaches in marginal weather conditions.