Piper PA 18-150 N5989Z accident near Ronan, Montana

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from terrain while performing an intentional, abrupt low-level maneuver.

NTSB analysis

The commercial pilot was conducting a personal flight around the local area; the passenger had purchased the airplane about 6 weeks before the accident. After performing a series of low-level maneuvers, the pilot told the passenger that he saw a coyote, and he then performed a wingover maneuver. The airplane banked left, and the pilot pulled up. When the airplane was about 20 ft away from a hillside, the pilot stated that he did not think the airplane was going to clear the terrain. Shortly thereafter, the airplane struck the hillside. After the accident, the passenger reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

The wreckage was located on a steep easterly facing hillside about 100 ft below the peak. Ground scar analysis, impact signatures, and wreckage fragmentation patterns revealed that the airplane impacted terrain in a left bank on about a 200-degree heading.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR15FA062 for the full record.