What happened
On June 19, 2025, at 14:12 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172K, registration N79306, was destroyed in an accident near Billings, Montana. The flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight.
According to preliminary FAA ADS-B data, the aircraft departed Ostlunds Airport at 14:07, performing a climbing left turn toward the southeast. At 14:11, the aircraft flew over a private ranch, and the flight track ended at 14:12, approximately 230 feet southeast of the crash site.
The aircraft came to rest in the floor of a coulee beneath damaged power distribution lines. The debris field was contained within a 75-foot by 75-foot area. The first identified point of contact was a ground scar consistent with the leading edge of the left wing, with red glass fragments from the left wingtip navigation light found at the outboard end of the scar. The main wreckage remained upright at an elevation of 3,770 feet mean sea level, oriented on a heading of approximately 200° magnetic. Evidence of a postcrash fire was present throughout the wreckage.
1 fatality was reported.