Murphy SR3500 N62ZT

Summary

On 19 September 2025 at about 18:05 local time, a Murphy SR3500 registered N62ZT was involved in an accident near Bigfork, Montana, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

19 September 2025 at 18:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Bigfork, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Ferndale Airfield (53U)

Coordinates

48.0675, -114.0018

Aircraft

Murphy SR3500

Registration

N62ZT

Category

Airplane

Year built

2010

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kalispell → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR25FA289

1 person died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On September 19, 2025, about 1205 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur built Murphy SR3500, N62ZT, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Bigfork, Montana. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a witness, the tailwheel equipped airplane departed Kalispell City Airport (S27), Kalispell, Montana, about 1130, for a local flight. About 1200, the airplane approached runway 33 at Ferndale Airfield (53U), Bigfork, Montana. According to multiple witnesses at 53U, the airplane bounced twice during a landing attempt on runway 33. About midfield, the airplane was seen rolling out on its main landing gear, with the tail up, and the engine was heard “throttling up.” Near the departure end of runway 33, the airplane was heard climbing out when the engine was heard making a sudden, loud bang and popping sound, then became quiet. The airplane subsequently impacted trees to the right side of runway 33’s overrun area and a post-crash fire ensued. (See figure 1.) Figure 1. Event sequence at 53U Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted trees at the eastern edge of runway 33’s overrun and came to rest upright, at an elevation of 3,079 ft mean sea level (msl), about 875 ft from the departure end of runway 33. The first identified point of contact (FIPC) was a pine tree that had been topped about 50 ft above ground level (agl), located about 104 ft and on magnetic heading of 177° from the main wreckage. The fuselage was thermally destroyed and oriented on a magnetic heading of 121°, among multiple downed trees. The right wing was located at the base of a tree near the FIPC. The left wing was located to the right of the main wreckage, and the empennage was located about 45 ft beyond, and on a magnetic heading of 050° from the main wreckage. The engine remained attached to the fuselage and was thermally damaged. Outboard segments of both propeller blades were located within the debris path. All major components of the airplane were located throughout the debris path. The wreckage was recovered to a secure location for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.