Nose Gear Up on Runway 29: The NetJets Citation Latitude's Diversion to Missoula

A NetJets Citation Latitude bound for a small Montana airport diverted to Missoula instead, landing on its main gear with the nose still retracted after a gear malfunction the crew couldn't resolve in the roughly five minutes between requesting the diversion and touching down.

A Short Repositioning Flight, Interrupted

The Latitude was flying from Billings to Hamilton-Ravalli County Airport — a short regional hop, the kind of flight that doesn't usually leave much time to work an in-flight problem before you're supposed to be on the ground. When the landing gear malfunctioned, the crew made the call to divert to Missoula, a larger airport better equipped to handle an aircraft landing with a known gear problem, rather than continue to the smaller original destination.

A Fast Sequence

The pilots requested the diversion at about 1:25 p.m. and were on the ground in Missoula roughly five minutes later — not much time to attempt extensive troubleshooting, which suggests the crew assessed the gear problem quickly and prioritized getting down at a suitable airport over spending more time airborne trying to resolve it.

Landing on the Mains

The aircraft touched down on Runway 29 with its nose gear retracted, a landing technique similar to the NetJets Citation Longitude's arrival at Akron-Canton three weeks earlier in this same archive: main gear first, controlling the nose's contact with the runway rather than having it drop uncontrolled. Both pilots walked away uninjured, and the aircraft sustained only minor damage.

A Temporary Runway Closure

Missoula airport operations paused while crews cleared the aircraft from the runway, briefly halting departures before normal operations resumed.

Investigation Status

The specific cause of the gear malfunction remains under investigation as of this writing.

This reconstruction was researched from official investigation records where they exist, the original air traffic control recording, and contemporary reporting. The aircraft movement, timeline and written account were assembled independently by Flight Follower. Where an investigation is open or no probable cause has been published, the account says so rather than offering one.

Timeline

Accident Facts

Sources

• KPAX, "Update: 4 flights suspended at Missoula airport for disabled aircraft on runway"
• NBC Montana, "Aircraft makes emergency landing at Missoula airport"
• Spagnoletti Law Firm, "Business Jet Makes Emergency Nose-Gear-Up Landing at Missoula Montana Airport"
• Registration N534QS per aviation-safety.net's incident record for this event.