BILLINGS – Investigators said Tuesday in a preliminary report that weather conditions were poor at the time of last week’s plane crash that killed two men near Pryor.
Scott Shimamoto of Billings and Fred Wallis of Lavina were returning from a trip to Sheridan, Wyo., on Oct. 13 when the Cessna 182 went down in a remote area of the Pryor Mountains about 25 miles southeast of Billings.
The report says Wallis, the pilot, had flown to Sheridan, Wyo., in the morning from Laurel with Scott Shimamoto to do some work on a home. They departed Sheridan shortly later.
The National Transportation Safety Board report follows an initial analysis of the Cessna wreckage that spreads over a 210-foot-long area.
The board’s investigation will be completed after the remains of the destroyed plane are removed from the remote location and examined.
A witness who is also a pilot said that “weather conditions were poor” on the day of the crash, with limited visibility and cold temperatures at the Sheridan airport.
Wallis had told a family member he expected the return flight would take longer than usual due to weather conditions, the report said.
Weather data from Billings Logan International Airport, the weather reporting facility closest to the wreck site, suggests winds would have been calm, with a temperature of 28.4 degrees, visibility of 10 miles and cloud ceilings at 1,000 feet.
The board said investigators were able to identify all of the plane’s control surfaces and major parts among the wreckage.
Shimamoto, 32, was an office manager with Wells Built Homes in Billings. Wallis, who was in his late 50s, did plumbing work as a subcontractor through his business Wallis Mechanical.