Piper PA-25 accident near Hot Springs, SD
On July 12, 2025, a Piper PA-25 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Hot Springs, SD. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 12, 2025
- Place
- Hot Springs, SD
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-25 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 43.375°N, 103.379°W
- NTSB ID
- 20250712200517
NTSB summary
On July 12, 2025, about 1322 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-25, N8186K, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Hot Springs, South Dakota. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 glider aerotow flight. The pilot of the glider being aerotowed reported that the accident occurred during his fourth flight of the day and a pre-takeoff briefing was performed before each aerotow. The glider pilot stated that on the accident flight, after liftoff, he kept the glider in a standard tow position while he contended with updrafts until the glider reached 1,500 ft agl at which point the glider was in a higher-than-normal tow position. The glider pilot radioed the towplane pilot that he was going to release from the tow rope. The glider pilot reportedly pulled the glider’s tow rope release knob twice but did not feel the rope disconnect. He subsequently determined the glider had separated from the tow rope, and he made an otherwise uneventful landing at the airport on runway 19. A witness reported that the towplane and glider were in a climbing left turn and were about 500 to 600 ft agl when the glider appeared to get “extremely high” on the aerotow. The towplane pitched down, and the glider appeared to release from the tow rope. According to the witness, the towplane never recovered from the nose down attitude before it impacted terrain. The towplane impacted terrain about one mile north of the departure end of runway 6 at the Hot Springs Municipal Airport, Hot Springs, South Dakota. The tow
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Browse: South Dakota · 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.
