20150326003159A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Piper PA-32R-301 · Townsend, MT · March 26, 2015

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal NTSB investigation search

Date: March 26, 2015 · 12:30 local
Place: Townsend, MT
Phase of flight: Maneuver
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Destroyed
Aircraft: C-GAUS
Reported as: Piper PA-32R-301
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 1
Other injuries: 1
Pilot’s certificate: Unknown or foreign certificate
Pilot’s flight hours: 628 total31 in this make and model3 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.

The accident aircraft was southbound on the leeward (east) side of the big belt mountain range with strong gusty westerly winds forming clouds along the tops of the mountains. Per the surviving passenger, the pilot entered the clouds and in an attempt to exit IMC he executed a right turn, to the west, towards the mountains and crashed into the mountain at about 8340 feet elevation. The aircraft was substantially damaged, the pilot was fatally injured and the passenger suffered serious injuries.

As the FAA filed it

THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT WAS SOUTHBOUND ON THE LEEWARD (EAST) SIDE OF THE BIG BELT MOUNTAIN RANGE WITH STRONG GUSTY WESTERLY WINDS FORMING CLOUDS ALONG THE TOPS OF THE MOUNTAINS. PER THE SURVIVING PASSENGER, THE PILOT ENTERED THE CLOUDS AND IN AN ATTEMPT TO EXIT IMC HE EXECUTED A RIGHT TURN, TO THE WEST, TOWARDS THE MOUNTAINS AND CRASHED INTO THE MOUNTAIN AT ABOUT 8340 FEET ELEVATION. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED, THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED AND THE PASSENGER SUFFERED SERIOUS INJURIES.