19811004065049A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Piper PA-28-161 · Helena, MT · October 4, 1981

Date
October 4, 1981 · 17:15 local
Place
Helena, MT
Phase of flight
Unauth Low Level Opns
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N30355
Reported as
Piper PA28161
Reported engine
Lycoming O320D3G
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
4,010 total460 in this make and model238 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Elk spotting in mountains. Unable to clear rising terrain. Crashed into upslope in a full stall attitude.

As the FAA filed it

ELK SPOTTING IN MOUNTAINS. UNABLE TO CLEAR RISING TERRAIN. CRASHED INTO UPSLOPE IN A FULL STALL ATTITUDE.