Piper PA-28-181 N4350F

Summary

On 17 December 2005 at about 00:50 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N4350F, operated by Mark N. Irion, was involved in an accident near Butte, Montana, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 December 2005 at 00:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Butte, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Bert Mooney (KBTM)

Coordinates

45.8492, -112.4506

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N4350F

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Mark N. Irion

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Miles City → Butte

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

SEA06LA029

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the terrain during low-level maneuvering at night. Factors included the pilot’s improper in-flight decision to continue into an area that was forecasted to possibly contain snow, fog, and low ceilings. Additional factors included his failure to obtain a weather update while en route, a dark night, mountainous terrain, trees, snow showers, fog, and the pilot’s inadvertent flight into instrument flight rules conditions while on a visual flight rules flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

When the pilot, who was not instrument rated, departed his point of origin, the area forecast for his destination was indicating the possibility of marginal VFR and locally IFR conditions due to fog, snow showers, and low clouds. He did not make use of FAA weather updating services while en route, and when he arrived in the area near his destination, it was already dark, and the weather at the airport had deteriorated to one-half mile visibility, freezing fog, moderate snow, and a ceiling of 800 feet broken. As he maneuvered toward the airport through mountainous/hilly terrain, he inadvertently entered IFR conditions, and then reversed course in order to return to VFR conditions. During his attempt to maneuver through the area of a mountain pass, the aircraft collided with trees on a steep snow-covered slope.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.