History of Flight
On June 27, 2010, at approximately 1600 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-180, registration N7581J, impacted mountainous terrain about 10 miles southwest of Dixon, Montana. The airplane was privately owned, operated by Northstar Jet, and rented to the pilot, who was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot and three passengers were killed. The airplane sustained substantial damage and was consumed by a post-impact fire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Kalispell City Airport, Kalispell, Montana, at about 1409.
The airplane was reported missing the same day. A search by the Sanders and Lake County Sheriff Departments began, and the wreckage was located by aerial search crews on the afternoon of June 30 in rugged, remote mountainous terrain. A ground search team confirmed four fatalities at the site.
According to the Lake County Sheriff and the airplane owner, the pilot had rented the single-engine, blue-and-white airplane and departed with one passenger from Missoula International Airport about 1330. Around 1409, he departed Kalispell City Airport with three passengers for a sightseeing flight. Initial radar data showed the airplane heading north over the Flathead National Forest, then traveling south along the east side of Flathead Lake. The last radar return was at 1552 near Dixon at an altitude of about 300 feet above ground level (2,800 feet mean sea level). Witnesses reported seeing a low-flying blue-and-white single-engine airplane over the Flathead River between Perma and Dixon around 1600.
Pilot Information
The pilot, aged 25, held a private pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land, issued June 26, 2009, and a second-class airman medical certificate issued March 21, 2008, with no limitations. His logbook was presumed destroyed in the post-impact fire. The operator and the pilot's certified flight instructor stated the pilot had about 100 hours of total flight time, with about 30 hours in the accident airplane. Rental records indicated his most recent flights in that airplane were on November 25, 2009, and June 25, 2010.
Aircraft Information
The four-seat, low-wing, retractable-landing-gear airplane, serial number 28R-30971, was manufactured in 1968. It was powered by a Lycoming IO-360-B1E 180-horsepower engine and equipped with a Hartzell model HC2YK-1BF two-bladed constant-speed propeller. An annual inspection was completed on April 9, 2010, at a recorded total airframe time of 6,234.5 hours. The engine time since major overhaul was 1,772.9 hours. An entry dated June 9, 2010, noted the airplane had been stripped, repainted, and a successful test flight performed. The operator reported the airplane departed Missoula with full fuel tanks (50 gallons) and no fuel was taken on at Kalispell.
Using the rate-of-climb vs. density altitude chart from the PA-28R-180 Owner's Handbook (gear and flaps up, gross weight 2,500 pounds), the calculated density altitude at 5,000 feet msl and 27°C is 7,500 feet, with an estimated rate of climb at maximum gross weight of 480 feet per minute.
Meteorological Information
The weather observation at Missoula International Airport (36 miles southeast of the accident site) at 1553, recorded by automated surface observation system, showed winds from 140 degrees at 3 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky clear; temperature 27°C.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy on the pilot was performed on July 3, 2010, by the State of Montana Medical Examiner. The autopsy findings listed the cause of death as "blunt force injuries." Forensic toxicology detected 0.0029 μg/ml tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic acid (marijuana metabolite) in brain tissue, tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic acid in muscle tissue, and 0.0304 μg/ml in urine.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was located on June 30 at an elevation of 4,685 feet msl, about 4.5 miles south of the Flathead River, near the bottom of a heavily wooded steep valley with lodgepole pine and young maples. The hillside slope measured 28 degrees. The wreckage lay with left wing, right wing, engine, and tail in their relative positions; the right wing pointed uphill, and the wreckage was oriented on a 069-degree magnetic bearing line from tail to nose. The center fuselage and cabin area were completely consumed by post-impact fire. Two trees adjacent to the left wing had fresh breaks consistent with being topped; another tree had fresh damage to trunk and branches at the same elevation. Browned tree branches and needles indicated fuel blight. Blackened ground and charred vegetation were consistent with a localized ground fire.
Control continuity was established from all control surface bell cranks to cockpit connection points. The right horizontal stabilator was sheared off at its interface with the empennage; about 40 percent of the left stabilator remained; the vertical stabilizer with rudder attached was present. Fragments of the stabilator were found beneath the topped trees. The stabilator trim jack screw was extended 1 inch, corresponding to a neutral pitch setting. The fuel selector valve was fire-damaged, preventing determination of its position. Both main landing gear were down, with ground divots next to each mount; the nose landing gear appeared in transit. The flap handle was down; the right flap was flush with the wing upper skin; the left flap and aileron were separated and found downhill. The engine was separated from its mount, inverted and aligned with the fuselage centerline. The engine was blackened and sooted. The intake and exhaust manifolds were impact-separated; the throttle body had separated from its mount. Both magnetos were attached; the fuel distribution valve was present with all four fuel lines. The engine could not be rotated by hand. The propeller was attached; the spinner undamaged; both blades showed minimal leading-edge damage and the outer third of each blade was bent aft about 15 degrees. Examination by the manufacturer's technical representative revealed no anomalies that would preclude normal engine operation before impact.