What happened
On May 9, 2025, at approximately 0900 mountain daylight time, an American Champion Aircraft 7GCBC, registration N342H, crashed into heavily wooded, sloping mountainous terrain near Big Creek, Idaho. The flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 for personal use.
A witness at the Big Creek airport (U60) reported seeing the aircraft land early that morning and observed it depart to the north shortly thereafter. While the witness did not see the takeoff itself, they noted the engine sounded normal during the departure. There were no witnesses to the actual accident sequence.
The aircraft impacted trees approximately 2,000 feet north of the departure end of runway 01. The wreckage came to rest upright at an elevation of 5,538 feet MSL. The debris path, which was roughly 90 feet long, was oriented on a heading of about 010° magnetic. The first point of contact involved 50-foot-tall trees with damaged upper limbs.
There was 1 fatality resulting from the accident.