Pilot Who Died in October Crash Faced Turbulence, Had Trouble Seeing at Night

Nov. 19, 2020
3 min read

Nov. 18—The pilot killed in a plane crash near a Billings Logan International Airport runway last month faced turbulence and had trouble seeing the airport at night, according to a preliminary report.

Donald Nimmick, a 74-year-old resident of Oak Point, Texas, died of blunt force trauma Oct. 30 when his Cessna 172 crashed on the northeastern edge of the airport. The crash occurred just after 7 p.m., and the National Transportation Safety Board stated in its report that he was bound for Three Forks after starting a trip from Dallas.

Nimmick was flying through wind shear, strong headwinds and turbulence after departing Sheridan, Wyoming, the last of several stops he made from Texas. He diverted to Billings after being unable to climb to a safe altitude to continue to Three Forks.

On his approach to Billings, Nimmick and a tower controller agreed on a runway for him to land on, but as he flew closer the pilot said, "I'm having trouble making out the airport from the rest of the flashing lights."

The tower controller advised the pilot to keep his altitude at 4,500 feet mean sea level or above, which would put him about 1,000 feet above Billings, and requested that he fly over the airport. Nimmick responded that he had the runway in sight, and he lined up his airplane for landing. He was given clearance to land, along with the runway's elevation.

It was on Nimmick's approach to the runway that the tower controller lost sight of the airplane, and all communication ended. His plane struck a forested area about three-fourths of a mile from the runway.

Nimmick held a private pilot license issued in 2010, according to information from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Because the investigation is still ongoing, the information provided by the NTSB may change as it completes its final report. An exact cause for the crash has yet to be determined.

The NTSB currently has four ongoing investigations into plane crashes in the Billings area, three of them fatal. In January, a pilot and three passengers died when a Cessna 182 Skylane went down between Billings and Roundup. About three months later, a Piper PA-31 crashed at a local firing range shortly after taking off from Billings Logan International Airport, killing its 64-year-old pilot.

In September, the pilot of a Piper PA-30 was hospitalized with serious injuries after he told air traffic control at the Billings airport that he had lost both engines and crashed at the base of the Rims, according to a preliminary report.

Final reports from the NTSB on plane crashes can take well over a year to complete.

___

(c)2020 the Billings Gazette (Billings, Mont.)

Visit the Billings Gazette (Billings, Mont.) at www.billingsgazette.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Sign up for Aviation Pros Newsletters
Get the latest news and updates.