# Accident 20150326003159A: Piper PA-32R-301, Townsend, MT, March 26, 2015

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 26, 2015, 12:30 local time
- Place: Townsend, MT
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 46.3192° N, 111.5196° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Townsend, MT, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.3192&lon=-111.5196&mi=10
- Aircraft: C-GAUS (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-32R-301
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Unknown or foreign certificate
- Pilot flight hours: 628 total, 31 in this make and model, 3 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150326003159A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

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.

## NTSB investigation

None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.