D. Wayne Smith WAYNCRAFT 14 accident near Libby, MT
On June 6, 1999, a D. Wayne Smith WAYNCRAFT 14 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Libby, MT. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- June 6, 1999
- Place
- Libby, MT
- Aircraft
- D. Wayne Smith WAYNCRAFT 14 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 48.320°N, 115.361°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X19112
NTSB summary
On June 6, 1999, between 0830 and 0900 mountain daylight time, an amateur-built D. Wayne Smith Wayncraft 14 experimental-category airplane, N58WS, departed Libby, Montana. Later that morning (approximately 1125), search and rescue satellites detected emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signals originating in the Libby area, and a search was initiated to locate the source of the ELT signals. The substantially damaged wreckage of N58WS was located near the computed signal origin between approximately 1600 and 1630 that afternoon. The wreckage was located at approximately the 6,100-foot level on a ridge in the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness area of the Kootenai National Forest, approximately 11 nautical miles west of the Libby airport. The private pilot-in-command, who was the registered owner (but not the builder) and sole occupant of the aircraft, was found dead with the wreckage. Visual meteorological conditions were reported at Glacier Park International Airport, Kalispell, Montana (approximately 59 nautical miles east of the accident site), during the entire time between N58WS's departure from Libby and the time the wreckage was located, and no flight plan had been filed for the 14 CFR 91 personal flight. The Wayncraft 14 is a replica of the Piper PA-14 airplane built from plans prepared by Wag-Aero Inc., Lyons, Wisconsin (Wag-Aero's model name for this plans-built aircraft type is the "Sportsman 2+2".) According to FAA records, the accident aircraft received an experimental-category airworthiness certificate on July 22, 1990, and was sold to the accident pilot by its builde
Probable cause
Collision with terrain for undetermined reasons.
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Browse: Montana
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
