Learjet Yanked Out of Montana Ravine in Landing Gone Wrong

The only thing worse than going to Montana? Your Learjet crashing into a ravine.

That ultra-specific nightmare scenario for the ultra-wealthy was an awkward reality for two pilots, who found their aircraft essentially stuck in a ditch when they ran off the runway at Mission Field Airport in Livingston, Montana.

On January 11, the pair of pilots, who were on their way to pick up a few clients, found their plans of a smooth landing quickly thwarted after their plane slid off the runway, through a barbed wire fence, and roughly 300 feet into a ravine. Though they both emerged from the cockpit generally unscathed, they were later taken to the hospital to be assessed for injuries, per local news outlet Montana Standard.

While it’s unclear what caused the incident, Yellowstone Air Services owner Gabriel Chandler suggested that either “reverse thruster” or “brake failure” could be the culprit.

“We’ve had plane incidents before, but not this big,” he explained.

Yet nearly as big as the incident is the cleanup. Shortly after the accident, a team was sent to yank the jet from its ravine-y grave, an ordeal that required one very strong rope.

Flying private: Just as bad as flying on a Boeing.