Last updated: 22 January 2021
| Status: | Final |
| Date: | Friday 18 December 1992 |
| Time: | 16:45 |
| Type: |  Cessna 550 Citation II |
| Operator: | United States Department of Energy |
| Registration: | N6887Y |
| C/n / msn: | 550-0293 |
| First flight: | 1981 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5275 |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-4 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 8 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | 1,6 km (1 mls) E of Billings-Logan International Airport, MT (BIL) ( United States of America)
|
| Phase: | Approach (APR) |
| Nature: | Executive |
| Departure airport: | Watertown Airport, SD (ATY/KATY), United States of America |
| Billings-Logan International Airport, MT (BIL/KBIL), United States of America |
Rolled rapidly to the inverted position and descend almost vertically into the ground while on approach to Billings' runway 27R. Upset caused by wake turbulence from a preceding Boeing 757. Horizontal separation was decreasing below 2.6 miles.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot-in-command's failure to follow established vortex avoidance procedures, as published in the airman's information manual, to provide his own wake turbulence separation."
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Classification:
Weather: Wake vortex encounterLoss of control
Sources:
» NTSBPhotos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Watertown Airport, SD to Billings-Logan International Airport, MT as the crow flies is 888 km (555 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
Distance from Watertown Airport, SD to Billings-Logan International Airport, MT as the crow flies is 888 km (555 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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Citation II
- 603 built
- 8th loss
- 6th fatal accident
- The worst accident (at the time)
- 2nd worst accident (currently)