Accident Details
On September 19, 2025, at about 1205 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Murphy SR3500, registration N62ZT, was destroyed in an accident near Bigfork, Montana. The pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane was operating 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) in Kalispell, Montana, around 1130 for a local flight. At about 1200, the airplane approached runway 33 at Ferndale Airfield (53U) in Bigfork. Multiple witnesses at the airfield reported that the airplane bounced twice during a landing attempt on runway 33. Near midfield, the airplane was observed rolling out on its main landing gear with the tail up, and the engine was heard "throttling up." As the airplane neared the departure end of runway 33, witnesses heard the engine make a sudden, loud bang and popping sound, after which the engine became quiet. The airplane then impacted trees to the right side of the runway 33 overrun area, and a post-crash fire ensued.
Wreckage Examination
Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane struck trees at the eastern edge of runway 33's overrun and came to rest upright at an elevation of 3,079 feet mean sea level, about 875 feet from the departure end of runway 33. The first identified point of contact was a pine tree that had been topped about 50 feet above ground level, located about 104 feet on a 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 found at the base of a tree near the first point of contact. The left wing was located to the right of the main wreckage, and the empennage was about 45 feet beyond the main wreckage on a magnetic heading of 050°. The engine remained attached to the fuselage and sustained thermal damage. Outboard segments of both propeller blades were found within the debris path. All major components of the airplane were accounted for within the debris field. The wreckage was recovered to a secure location for further examination.