— 10 The Oklahoman (A. Thornton). “Band’s Plane Goes Down; 3 Sooners Die.” 7-6-1987.

— 10 United Press International. “Montana Air Crash Kills Band.” Chicago Tribune, 7-6-1987.

Narrative Information

July 6, UPI: “Lakeside, Mont. — A twin-engine plane carrying the regional country-western band Montana crashed and burned a path through pine trees on a hillside in northwestern Montana, killing all 10 people aboard, officials said Sunday. It was the worst private plane crash in Montana history.[1]

“Victims of the Saturday night accident, which occurred shortly after takeoff from Kalispell, included six musicians who had played at a 4th of July party and were en route to Idaho for an evening show; their manager; the 12-year-old son of a band member; the pilot of the Beechcraft-18 and his girlfriend. The band members were identified as Curt Bergeron, Spokane, Wash.; Clifford Tipton, Reno, Nev.; Allen Larson, Tulsa, Okla.; Grady Whitfield, Salt Lake City; Terry Robinson, Kalispell; and Dale Anderson of Ft. Benton, Mont. Tipton`s son, Dallas, was killed along with the band’s manager, Tom Sawan of Missoula, Mont., and Jean Lemery of Couer d’Alene, Idaho, a friend of the pilot. The identity of the pilot was withheld pending notification of his parents…. [Joe Taylor[2]]

“The crash in an apple orchard on the west shore of Flathead Lake a half-mile south of the tiny community of Lakeside occurred at 8:05 p.m., said Corky Derby, spokeswoman for the Flathead County Sheriff’s Department.

July 6, The Oklahoman: “Lakeside, Mont…. The Oklahomans were identified Sunday as Cliff Dean Tipton, 32, lead guitarist, fiddle player and vocalist for The Montana Band; his son, Dallas Curtis Tipton, 11, of Newcastle; and another band member, Allan Larson of Tulsa….

“The band had just finished playing a Fourth of July private engagement in Lakeside and was en route to another show in Post Falls, Idaho, when the plane went down at 9:05 p.m. CDT Saturday, said Corky Derby, spokeswoman for the Flathead County sheriff’s office. The crash occurred on the side of a hill about 300 yards from the shore of Flathead Lake.

“Scores of boaters and lakeside residents witnessed the crash. Some said the plane buzzed over the lake seconds before it crashed and exploded Saturday night. “They buzzed one of the boats on the lake. It looked like they knew somebody in the boat. They came over low and waggled their wings,” Virgil Deppmeier of Los Altos, Calif., told The Associated Press….

“The other crash victims were identified as pilot Joe Taylor of Athol, Idaho; his friend, Jean Bernadine Lemery of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; band manager Tom Sawan of Missoula; sound manager Dale Anderson of Fort Benton; and band members Kurt Bergeron, Spokane, Wash.; Grady Whitfield, Salt Lake City; and Terry Robinson, Whitefish.

“Formerly known as the Mission Mountain Wood Band, the group changed its name to The Montana Band in 1980 and worked out of Reno, Nev. The band had played the Reno-Tahoe casino showroom circuit for more than a decade and also played colleges, nightclubs, state fairs and rodeos across the country….” (The Oklahoman (Anthony Thornton). “Band’s Plane Goes Down; 3 Sooners Die.” 7-6-1987.)

Sources

The Oklahoman (Anthony Thornton). “Band’s Plane Goes Down; 3 Sooners Die.” 7-6-1987. Accessed 11-4-2016 at: http://newsok.com/article/2191512

United Press International. “Montana Air Crash Kills Band.” Chicago Tribune, 7-6-1987. Accessed 11-4-2016 at: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-07-06/news/8702190223_1_pilot-band-montana

[1] There had been, though, 8 as deadly or deadlier commercial and military aviation events.

[2] The Oklahoman (Anthony Thornton). “Band’s Plane Goes Down; 3 Sooners Die.” 7-6-1987.

1987 — July 4, Private (band Montana) Beechcraft crash ~Flathead Lake, Lakeside, MT-10