Piper PA-16 accident near Park City, Montana, July 20, 2005
On July 20, 2005 at about 6:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-16, registered N5942H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Park City, Montana. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane on the takeoff roll. Factors contributing to the accident included the loose gravel, ditch, and the fence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 20, 2005 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Park City, Montana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-16 · all PA-16s on the register
- Registration
- N5942H · registry record · serial 16-564
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After measuring the north-south gravel road's width as being 36 feet, and noting that her airplane's wingspan was 30 feet, the pilot elected to takeoff south on the crowned, downhill road with telephone wires bordering it on the east. Staying to the right during the takeoff roll on the loose gravel, the pilot got off into a bordering ditch, then into the adjoining wheat field before ground looping across the road and impacting a fence. The outboard left wing, left forward wing lift strut, left landing gear, and propeller were damaged.
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
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,667 hours in all; 1,511 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: S83 Kellog ID
- Destination: 6S8 Laurel MT
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 N5942H 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 SEA05CA148.