NTSB Identification: SEA97FA043.
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Accident occurred Sunday, January 05, 1997 in FORT SMITH, MT
Probable Cause Approval Date: 04/10/1998
Aircraft: Piper PA-28R, registration: N3347Q
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.Although the aircraft initially tracked within the lateral boundaries of a Victor airway during the dark night VFR flight from Billings, Montana, to Gillette, Wyoming, the pilot later veered off course and entered mountainous/hilly terrain. While in cruise flight, the aircraft impacted densely forested rising terrain at 7,800 feet MSL in a near-wings-level attitude.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain. Factors include the pilot inadvertently becoming lost/disoriented, the dark night (minimum ambient light), and mountainous/hilly terrain. Full narrative availableIndex for Jan1997 | Index of months