Airplane loses control, exits runway after landing at Bozeman airport

BOZEMAN — A small aircraft ran off the runway at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN), diverting one flight and causing two others to circle the airport on Tuesday night, Aug. 27, 2024.

I spoke with BZN President and Chief Executive Officer Brian Sprenger, who told me that around 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday, a small Beech Bonanza plane landed, lost control, and exited the runway.

As the plane exited the runway, the nose gear collapsed, as you can see in this image taken by Jordan Lemmon.

Jordan Lemmon

FAA and NTSB took around 90 minutes to inspect and safely clear the plane. Just after the incident, an Alaska Airlines flight was coming in from Seattle.

The plane did not have enough fuel to circle the area for 90 minutes and had to be diverted to Billings-Logan International Airport for refueling. The detour added two hours to the flight.

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Two additional flights had to circle the area while waiting for the plane to be removed, but those flights did not have to be diverted.

There were no injuries in this incident, and the plane was safely removed.

Sprenger says it is still not known what caused the airplane to lose control.

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