- Date
- January 11, 1982, 07:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Near Bozeman, MT
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7273JPiper PA-28-140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report January 11, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820111000879A
- Case key
- 71850
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot was on an early morning flight over mountainous terrain at 8500 feet. While inbound to his destination, he encountered an area of restricted visibility with snow. As he started a right turn to correct to his desired course, his passenger alerted him of a hill ahead. At about the same time, he experienced a rapid descent. He applied full power and tried to climb, but was unable. While loosing airspeed, the aircraft pitched nose down in what the pilot described as a stall. The plane struck a tree before impacting in 4 to 5 ft of snow on a mountain slope. Both occupants survived the impact. The ELT was removed and switched from "arm" to "on." It was carried during their trek down the mountain side. The signal eventually led search aircraft to their location.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7273J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2824615
- Airframe hours
- 2,989
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-23D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- P. D. Sebastian
- Registered owner
- P. D. Sebastian
- Departed
- GTF · Great Falls, MT
- Destination
- BZN · Bozeman, MT
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.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 22
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 85 total · 49 in this make and model · 48 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 45° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 90 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.