Piper PA 18-150 N5989Z

Summary

On 16 December 2014 at about 23:20 local time, a Piper PA 18-150 registered N5989Z was involved in an accident near Ronan, Montana, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 December 2014 at 23:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Ronan, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Ronan (7S0)

Coordinates

47.6008, -114.2103

Aircraft

Piper PA 18-150

Registration

N5989Z

Category

Airplane

Year built

1965

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ronan → Ronan

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR15FA062

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from terrain while performing an intentional, abrupt low-level maneuver.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was conducting a personal flight around the local area; the passenger had purchased the airplane about 6 weeks before the accident. After performing a series of low-level maneuvers, the pilot told the passenger that he saw a coyote, and he then performed a wingover maneuver. The airplane banked left, and the pilot pulled up. When the airplane was about 20 ft away from a hillside, the pilot stated that he did not think the airplane was going to clear the terrain. Shortly thereafter, the airplane struck the hillside. After the accident, the passenger reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The wreckage was located on a steep easterly facing hillside about 100 ft below the peak. Ground scar analysis, impact signatures, and wreckage fragmentation patterns revealed that the airplane impacted terrain in a left bank on about a 200-degree heading.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.