Pilatus PC-12/45 N128CM

Summary

On 22 March 2009 at about 20:30 local time, a Pilatus PC-12/45 registered N128CM, operated by Eagle Cap Leasing, Inc., was involved in an accident near Butte, Montana, United States. 14 people were on board and 14 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 March 2009 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Butte, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Bert Mooney Airport (BTM)

Coordinates

45.9500, -112.4833

Aircraft

Pilatus PC-12/45

Registration

N128CM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Eagle Cap Leasing, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oroville → Bozeman

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09MA159

14 people died.

(1) the pilot's failure to ensure that a fuel system icing inhibitor was added to the fuel before the flights on the day of the accident; (2) his failure to take appropriate remedial actions after a low fuel pressure state (resulting from icing within the fuel system) and a lateral fuel imbalance developed, including diverting to a suitable airport before the fuel imbalance became extreme; and (3) a loss of control while the pilot was maneuvering the left wing-heavy airplane near the approach end of the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/reports_aviation.html. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-11-05. On March 22, 2009, about 1432 mountain daylight time, a Pilatus PC-12/45, N128CM, was diverting to Bert Mooney Airport (BTM), Butte, Montana, when it crashed about 2,100 feet west of runway 33 at BTM. The pilot and the 13 airplane passengers were fatally injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The airplane was owned by Eagle Cap Leasing of Enterprise, Oregon, and was operating as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight departed Oroville Municipal Airport, Oroville, California, on an instrument flight rules flight plan with a destination of Gallatin Field, Bozeman, Montana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.