Piper PA-46-350P accident near Bigfork, MT
On April 11, 1998, a Piper PA-46-350P (airplane) was involved in an accident near Bigfork, MT. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 11, 1998
- Place
- Bigfork, MT
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-46-350P · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 47.741°N, 113.740°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X09954
NTSB summary
This report was modified on December 3, 2004. HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 11, 1998, at 0221 mountain daylight time (MDT), a Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage airplane, N9247W, registered to CMSystems, Inc., of Polson, Montana, and being flown by an airline transport pilot (who held commercial pilot privileges for single-engine land airplanes), disappeared from radar 20 nautical miles east-southeast of Glacier Park International Airport, Kalispell, Montana. Visual meteorological conditions were reported at Glacier Park International at 0156, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan from Bismarck, North Dakota, to Glacier Park International was in effect. The business flight was operated under 14 CFR 91 and had departed Madison, Wisconsin, at 1945 central daylight time (CDT) on the evening of April 10, making an intermediate fuel stop at Bismarck. The aircraft wreckage was located on June 16, 1998 in the Swan mountain range approximately 10 nautical miles east-northeast of Bigfork, Montana. The aircraft was destroyed, and the pilot and sole passenger were found to have sustained fatal injuries. Federal Aviation Administration personnel reported that at the time of the accident, the radar site located in Lakeside, Kalispell, Montana, was under construction to upgrade the facility from an ARSR-3 system to an ARSR-4 system. Due to this construction at the site, the reception of radar signal was inhibited to the northeast of the facility site. The Salt Lake City ARTCC radar tracked the aircraft, which was assigned a transponder code of 2402. The flight path indicated that the
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance for undetermined reasons. Contributing factors were the mountainous terrain, trees, dark night conditions, clouds and pilot fatigue.
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Browse: Montana · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
