ANC25FA098

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-28-180 · Wolf, WY · September 1, 2025

Accident · FatalClass 3 · FieldPreliminary report
Date
September 1, 2025, 16:12 local (22:12 UTC)
Place
Wolf, WY
Injuries
1 fatal, 2 serious, 1 minor
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Enroute
Aircraft
N8307WPiper PA-28-180
Defining event
Enroute-climb to cruise: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Investigation ongoing
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Alaska Regional Office
Parties
Piper, FAA, Lycoming
FAA report
20250901011559A
Case key
200911

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

On this page

Preliminary report

What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.

On September 1, 2025 about 1612 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180 airplane, N8307W, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Wolf, Wyoming. The pilot and one passenger were seriously injured; one passenger was fatally injured, and one passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The airplane departed from the Sheridan County Airport (SHR), Sheridan, Wyoming at 1602 and was en route to the Boise Airport (BOI), Boise, Idaho. According to family members, the pilot was transporting his family back to their home in Boise and he planned to fly back to SHR that afternoon. About 1612, a brief emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal was received from the accident airplane, but the signal stopped just after being received. Shortly thereafter, a passenger aboard the accident airplane called local law enforcement officials to alert them of the accident. A search and rescue helicopter was launched and subsequently located the wreckage about 16 miles west of the Sheridan County Airport in an area of mountainous, tree covered terrain. On September 3, an investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) Alaska Regional Office traveled to the accident site. Once on scene, the NTSB investigator documented the airplane wreckage before recovery efforts began. An initial examination of the airplane wreckage revealed that all the airplane’s components were found at the accident site. The engine data monitor and a portable GPS unit were recovered for data download. Given the pilot and passenger’s serious injuries sustained in the accident, an NTSB interview is pending.

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Aircraft

Registration
N8307W
Reported as
Piper PA-28-180
Category
Airplane
Serial number
28-2476
Built
1965
Airframe hours
5,133
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · March 20, 2025
Departed
SHR · Sheridan, WY
Destination
BOI · Boise, ID
Equipment
Auto-pilot, Electronic multifunction display, Handheld GPS, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
60° at 9 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
88 °F, dew point 39 °F
Altimeter
30.21 inHg
Observed at
KSHR, 15 nm away
METAR
KSHR 012253Z AUTO 06009KT 10SM CLR 31/04 A3021 RMK AO2 SLP199 T03110039

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.