Piper PA-12 accident near Augusta, Montana, May 28, 2001
On May 28, 2001 at about 6:51 pm local time, a Piper PA-12, registered N2564M, was destroyed in an accident near Augusta, Montana (Benchmark airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed after takeoff resulting in an inadvertent stall at low a altitude.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 28, 2001 · about 6:51 pm local time
- Place
- Augusta, Montana · Benchmark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-12 · all PA-12s on the register
- Registration
- N2564M · registry record · serial 12937
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Witnesses reported that following takeoff from the paved runway, the pilot initiated a left climbing turn. Witnesses reported that during the climbing turn (at an estimated altitude of approximately 200 feet above ground level [AGL]), the airplane "…appeared slow and then stalled." The airplane impacted terrain in a nose low attitude approximately 340 feet east of the departure end of runway 30. Post crash fire and impact forces destroyed the airplane. Investigators did not find any evidence of pre-impact aircraft or engine malfunctions during postaccident examination of the wreckage. The pilot was participating in a fly-in/work session organized by the Montana Pilot's Association. Participants in the fly-in spent the weekend doing maintenance on the airport and its facilities. The pilot of the accident airplane arrived at Benchmark two days before the accident. At the conclusion of the fly-in activities, the pilot departed Benchmark with a planned destination of Helena, Montana.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,600 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,574 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2000
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 3U7 Benchmark MT at 6:50 pm
- Destination: HLN Helena MT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30, 6,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.70 inHg
- Observation at 6:56 pm from GTF, 60 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N2564M the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number SEA01FA106.