Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Silver Bow, Montana 59701
Monday, August 15, 2011 11:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The operator stated that the flight instructor indicated that the purpose of the instructional flight was to have the student conduct a series of touch-and-go landings before proceeding to the training area where he intended on having the student practice steep turns, turns around a point, and holding a level altitude. A witness located near the accident site reported seeing the airplane flying in a clockwise horizontal circle with the wings almost vertical, while slowly losing altitude. The airplane appeared to be attempting to straighten out and climb when it then went straight down in a nosedive. A second witness observed the airplane spinning to the right before descending. The witness reported that before losing sight of the airplane, it appeared to be pulling up. Wreckage and impact signatures were consistent with a right wing low and nose low impact. Postaccident examination of the airframe, flight control system, and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. From the witness observations, it is likely that the airplane entered a spin and the pilot was not able to regain control. It could not be determined who was at the flight controls at the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control while maneuvering.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/15/2011
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Silver Bow
Event State MONTANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 59701
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 460010N
Event Location Longitude 1123934W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1153 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID DLN
Elevation of weather observation facility 5241
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 44
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.9
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KDLN 151753Z AUTO VRB03KT 10SM CLR 26/07 A29
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 30940
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 26 2013 9:42AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2584N
NTSB Number WPR11FA383
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-38-112
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 38-79A0931
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 29 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1874
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name JJ Aviation
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Butte
Aircraft Owner State MT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 59702
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name JJ Aviation
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Butte
Operator State MT
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 59702
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code BTM
Departure City Butte
Departure State MT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code BTM
Destination City Butte
Destination State MT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 25 2013 6:03PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --