Taylorcraft BC12-D N43415

Summary

On 23 December 2023 at about 15:25 local time, a Taylorcraft BC12-D registered N43415 was involved in an accident near Whitefish, Montana, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 December 2023 at 15:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Whitefish, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Whitefish Airport (58S)

Coordinates

48.4080, -114.2996

Aircraft

Taylorcraft BC12-D

Registration

N43415

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Whitefish → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR24LA069

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the airport authorities to renew the airport closure NOTAM for the airport. Contributing to the accident, was the pilot’s inability to see the runway closure sign.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that the airport had recently been closed but the applicable Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) had expired, and he flew to the airport. Upon arrival, he overflew the field to check the wind direction and then entered a downwind for the runway. The approach was uneventful until just before touchdown when the airplane struck a steel structure, which was a runway closed sign, that had been placed near the runway threshold. The pilot further reported that he did not see the sign before impact due to visibility limitations of the tailwheel-equipped airplane on approach. The airplane subsequently nosed over and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot thought that the NOTAM of the airport closure had expired. It was determined that the airport was meant to be temporarily closed, but the applicable NOTAM was inadvertently allowed to expire and was not renewed. Appropriate mitigations have since been incorporated to prevent recurrence.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.