and arrived at Minneapolis at 7:30 a.m. The flight crew was changed at this stop and Captain Shank, First Officer Nygren, and Stewardess Hallum became the crew of Trip 1. According to the Northwest flight superintendent, Captain Shank arrived at the field at Minneapolis about two hours before the flight departed, and made a study of the weather map, the current forecast, and winds aloft chart. Trip 1 was delayed about 25 minutes at Minneapolis on account of mail, and departure was made at 8:15 a.m. Arrival at Fargo, North Dakota, was at 9:35 a.m.
Trip 1 departed from Fargo 9:45 a.m. (CWT) and arrived at Bismarck, North Dakota, at 10:55 a.m. It departed from Bismarck at 11:09 a.m. with 520 gallons of gasoline on board and was loaded to a gross weight of 25,165 pounds. The next point of intended landing was Miles City, Montana. The flight was cleared from the Minneapolis boundary to the Miles City Airport to cruise at 6000 feet, with permission to cross the Miles City Range station at 5000 feet. The elevation of Miles City Airport is 2,626 feet above sea level.
Captain Shank made his first approach to the northwest-southeast runway at the Miles City Airport at 11:27 a.m. (MWT) and it was the consensus of opinion of witnesses that the wheels touched the ground slightly beyond the point of intersection of the two runways. At this point, power was applied and the pilot circled the field to the left and made a second approach. However, on this approach, the captain apparently elected not to land but dragged the field at an altitude estimated as approximately 100 feet. It would appear that during this maneuver, Captain Shank was familiarizing himself with the conditions on
