# NTSB WPR25FA289: Murphy SR3500, N62ZT, Bigfork, MT, September 19, 2025

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Field · Preliminary report
- Date: September 19, 2025, 12:05 local (18:05 UTC)
- Place: Bigfork, MT · 53U - in tree line next to rwy 33 overrun
- Coordinates: 48.0675, -114.0018
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.0675&lon=-114.0018&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Initial climb: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000)
- Highest injury: Fatal
- Injuries: 1 fatal
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: Federal Aviation Administraton
- NTSB case key (mKey): 201050
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR25FA289
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/201050/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25FA289

## Preliminary report

On September 19, 2025, about 1205 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur built Murphy SR3500, N62ZT, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Bigfork, Montana. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a witness, the tailwheel equipped airplane departed Kalispell City Airport (S27), Kalispell, Montana, about 1130, for a local flight. About 1200, the airplane approached runway 33 at Ferndale Airfield (53U), Bigfork, Montana. According to multiple witnesses at 53U, the airplane bounced twice during a landing attempt on runway 33. About midfield, the airplane was seen rolling out on its main landing gear, with the tail up, and the engine was heard “throttling up.” Near the departure end of runway 33, the airplane was heard climbing out when the engine was heard making a sudden, loud bang and popping sound, then became quiet. The airplane subsequently impacted trees to the right side of runway 33’s overrun area and a post-crash fire ensued. (See figure 1.) Figure 1. Event sequence at 53U Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted trees at the eastern edge of runway 33’s overrun and came to rest upright, at an elevation of 3,079 ft mean sea level (msl), about 875 ft from the departure end of runway 33. The first identified point of contact (FIPC) was a pine tree that had been topped about 50 ft above ground level (agl), located about 104 ft and on magnetic heading of 177° from the main wreckage. The fuselage was thermally destroyed and oriented on a magnetic heading of 121°, among multiple downed trees. The right wing was located at the base of a tree near the FIPC. The left wing was located to the right of the main wreckage, and the empennage was located about 45 ft beyond, and on a magnetic heading of 050° from the main wreckage. The engine remained attached to the fuselage and was thermally damaged. Outboard segments of both propeller blades were located within the debris path. All major components of the airplane were located throughout the debris path. The wreckage was recovered to a secure location for further examination.

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Initial climb: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) (defining event); cases with it: [Evan W Fisk SR3500, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md?model=05640QC), [All aircraft, 1,703 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md)
- [Initial climb: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Evan W Fisk SR3500, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=05640QC), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N62ZT](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N62ZT), registered now, S/N 282SR, built 2010 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MURPHY SR3500 (UNDESIGNATED SERIES)
- Registry model: [Evan W Fisk SR3500](https://openairdocs.org/model/evan-w-fisk-sr3500) (registry code 05640QC) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Motorstar M14-PDXK](https://openairdocs.org/engine/motorstar-m14-pdxk) (registry code 46061, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number: 282SR
- Year built: 2010
- Damage: Destroyed
- Fire: On-Ground
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection: Condition, August 21, 2025
- Departed: S27, Kalispell, MT
- Destination: Same as departure
- Airport: 53U, Ferndale Airfield, runway 15/33, 3,500 × 95 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment: ADS-B

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 80° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observed at: KGPI, 18 nm away
- METAR: METAR KGPI 191755Z 08006KT 10SM CLR 21/07 A3001

## 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 20250919017029A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250919017029A), Sep 19, 2025: Evan W Fisk SR3500, Ferndale, MT, Destroyed, 1 fatal. During climb-out the aircraft lost power and drifted right of centerline into 100-foot-high pine trees. Right wing struck first spinning the aircraft 180…

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.

---
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.