Cessna 337 N337V

Summary

On 30 July 2020 at about 15:38 local time, a Cessna 337 registered N337V was involved in an accident near Ennis, Montana, United States. 3 people were on board and one died, 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 July 2020 at 15:38

Classification

Accident

Location

Ennis, Montana, United States

Coordinates

45.3900, -111.5581

Aircraft

Cessna 337

Registration

N337V

Category

Airplane

Year built

1971

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Helena → Jackson Hole

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR20LA245

1 person died.

The pilot-in-command’s failure to maintain sufficient airspeed while attempting an evasive maneuver from a boxed canyon, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin and impact with mountainous terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot-in-command’s failure to monitor the environment before flying into mountainous terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The left seat pilot-in-command (PIC) reported that, he passed the controls to the right seat student pilot once they were en route on the accident flight. The rear seat passenger’s postaccident statement indicated that the left seat pilot was at the controls for the duration of the flight; however, he may not have seen the exchange of the flight controls as he was seated behind both pilots at the time. As they were flying southbound on the cross-country flight over a valley about 3,000 ft above ground level, they agreed that they wanted to view a resort in the area. The student pilot then turned the airplane to the southeast towards higher mountainous terrain. After the airplane had entered a boxed canyon, and with a ridge in the airplane’s flightpath that it could not clear, the PIC took control of the airplane and attempted an evasive maneuver to reverse course to exit the canyon. However, during the maneuver, the PIC likely did not maintain sufficient airspeed, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin and subsequent impact with remote mountainous terrain. The PIC reported no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Toxicology results indicated that the student pilot had used cannabis, but likely had metabolized it such that no detectable psychoactive chemicals remained in his blood. The toxicology results and the student pilot’s limited role in the accident flight suggest that the effects of cannabis use were unlikely to have contributed to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.