# NTSB ANC25FA098: Piper PA-28-180, N8307W, Wolf, WY, September 1, 2025

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Field · Preliminary report
- Date: September 1, 2025, 16:12 local (22:12 UTC)
- Place: Wolf, WY
- Coordinates: 44.730275, -107.31617
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.7303&lon=-107.3162&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Enroute-climb to cruise: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120)
- Highest injury: Fatal
- Injuries: 1 fatal, 2 serious, 1 minor
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office
- Parties: Piper, FAA, Lycoming
- NTSB case key (mKey): 200911
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC25FA098
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200911/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC25FA098

## Preliminary 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 best describes what happened.

- [Enroute-climb to cruise: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-180, 14 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence.md?model=7102808), [All aircraft, 1,074 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N8307W](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8307W), registered now, S/N 28-2476, built 1965 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-28-180
- Registry model: [Piper PA-28-180](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-180) (registry code 7102808) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Lycoming O&VO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (registry code 41514, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 28-2476
- Year built: 1965
- Airframe hours: 5133
- 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

## 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 (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20250901011559A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250901011559A), Sep 1, 2025: Piper PA-28-180, Sheridan, WY, Destroyed, 1 fatal. Passenger reported engine had quit. Pilot was trying to get it restarted. Lost altitude and crashed in the timber. One fatal, two serious, one minor injuries.

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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