- Location: Thurlow, Montana
- Accident Number: WPR24FA150
- Date & Time: May 14, 2024, 07:20 Local
- Registration: UNREG
- Aircraft: Piper PA-18-150
- Aircraft Damage: Substantial
- Defining Event: Aerodynamic stall/spin
- Injuries: 2 Fatal
- Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Other work use
On May 14, 2024, about 0720 mountain daylight time, an unregistered Piper PA-18-150 airplane was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Thurlow, Montana. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 other work use flight.
The pilot of the tandem seat, non-registered airplane and a passenger were conducting a predator control flight that targeted coyotes on private land. A wildlife control officer on the ground near the designated hunting area was communicating with the pilot via through cell phone and could hear gunfire when the call ended. The control officer attempted to call the pilot back after he expected the flight to have ended but did not determine a need to search for the airplane. A ranch hand located the wreckage later in the day.
GPS data recovered from a handheld device found in the airplane wreckage showed that most of the flight was conducted at low altitudes. While engaging wildlife targets, the pilot slowed the airplane to as low as 36 kts groundspeed and performed multiple turns. During the last period of circling maneuvers the airplane slowed to about 25 kts groundspeed while about 113 ft above ground level (agl). The manufacturer’s Pilot’s Operating Handbook for a similar model of airplane indicated that the stall airspeed was 43 mph (37 kts).
Examination of the wreckage revealed the airplane impacted terrain in a nearly vertical, nosedown attitude while rotating clockwise. The wreckage signatures and very small debris area were consistent with an aerodynamic stall/spin. While maneuvering at low altitudes and low airspeed, the pilot likely exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin at an altitude too low for recovery. The pilot’s use of his cell phone, even with the aid of a hands-free device, likely distracted him from piloting duties.
The pilot’s toxicological testing revealed medications that had the potential to cause performance impairment and other medications that were commonly used to treat cold and allergy symptoms; however, toxicological testing did not establish that the pilot was impaired by the medication, nor that he was experiencing cold or allergy symptoms at the time of the accident.
- Probable Cause: The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack while maneuvering at low altitude, resulting in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction by his cell phone use while maneuvering.
- Pilot Information:
The pilot owned the airplane and occasionally hunted coyotes in support of the Rosebud County Predator Control Office. According to a fellow aerial predator control pilot, who knew the accident pilot well and had aerial hunted with him for over 20 years, the accident pilot was a very competent coyote hunter. The GPS-recorded altitudes, speeds, and turns to the right were consistent with the accident pilot’s aerial hunting techniques. The accident pilot was known to carry two different hunting weapons in the airplane: a semi-automatic shotgun for the passenger in the back to use and a single-shot shotgun for the pilot to use.
The passenger was a certificated pilot. According to his previous employer, the passenger ended his employment at the Frank Wiley Field Airport (MLS), Miles City, Montana, about a month prior to the accident and may have started working for the accident pilot. The prior employer had dinner with the accident pilot and passenger the night before the accident. He recalled that the passenger had gone aerial hunting with the accident pilot before but he did not know the number of times he may have went.
Well, a 65-year-old pilot was on his cell phone while firing a gun at coyotes while flying at 25 knots in an unregistered airplane that had its last annual inspection in 2012. I'd say this was a win for the coyotes.
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