Flight Details
On June 26, 1986, a pilot and his wife flew from Helena, Montana to Powell, Wyoming to visit family. That day, the pilot consumed alcoholic beverages. Despite his wife's request not to return to Helena that evening, he chose to fly back. During the flight, a catastrophic failure of the aircraft occurred. The wreckage was scattered over a 1460-foot area. The right wing and both stabilators were found approximately 750 feet from the main wreckage, showing evidence of overload failure. There was also evidence of upward deformation and failure of the wings and downward failure of the stabilators.
Weather Conditions
Campers near the crash site reported a moonless, cloudy night with thunder and lightning in the area, but no rain. Approximately 60 miles west at Helena, the weather at 2350 MDT was: 6500-foot overcast ceiling, visibility 15 miles. The elevation of the crash site was approximately 6000 feet, while the weather station elevation was 3873 feet.
Pilot Information
The pilot had 6 hours of night flying time, with the last night flight logged on June 29, 1983. He had 2.8 hours of instrument time, last logged on July 16, 1982. A blood test showed an alcohol level of 0.115%.