- Date
- November 12, 2000, 15:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Great Falls, MT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1594APiper PA-20
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 17, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20001112018199A
- Case key
- 50626
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's improper decision to land on unsuitable terrain. Factors include snow covered terrain.
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 private pilot was landing the tail-wheel equipped airplane on a snow covered off-airport landing site. Shortly after touch down, the airplane rapidly decelerated in the deep snow and nosed over.
Factual narrative
On November 12, 2000, about 1515 mountain standard time, a tail-wheel equipped Piper PA-20, N1594A, sustained substantial damage while landing at an off airport landing site approximately 18 miles south of Great Falls, Montana. The airplane was owned by the pilot, and was being operated as a personal/pleasure flight under the provisions of Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The private pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. The flight originated at Great Falls International Airport, Great Falls, Montana, approximately one hour and 15 minutes prior to the accident.
According to the pilot, he was conducting a practice emergency approach and landing to a remote, snow covered, off-airport landing site. He reported that when the aircraft touched down, in a three-point attitude, the main wheels contacted deep snow on the landing surface and the airplane subsequently nosed over. The airplane's right and left wing sustained substantial damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1594A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-20
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 833
- Airframe hours
- 4,186
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Raymond D. Fowler
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 19, 1999 · 157 hours before
- Departed
- GTF · 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
- 48
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 630 total · 629 in this make and model · 590 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GTF, 18 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 7, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N1594A · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.