Maule M-5-210C accident near Eureka, Montana, December 9, 2025
On December 9, 2025 at about 9:00 pm local time, a 1975 Maule M-5-210C, registered N339X, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Eureka, Montana (Eureka airport). It was a ferry flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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 directional control during landing in crosswind conditions. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of recent flight experience.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 9, 2025 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Eureka, Montana · Eureka · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Maule M-5-210C, built 1975 · all M-5-210Cs on the register
- Registration
- N339X · registry record · serial 6151
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that upon landing in the tailwheel-equipped airplane, it encountered a crosswind. The right wing lifted, and the left wing dropped and struck the runway, contacting the asphalt surface. The pilot reported that he did not apply appropriate crosswind control inputs during landing. The airplane subsequently ground looped and exited the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and aileron. The pilot reported no pre-accident mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the pilot was landing on runway 19 with light and variable wind at 5 knots. The pilot added that the accident flight was his first flight in about 7 years, but could not remember exactly when his last flight was.
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
What happened, in order
- Dragged wing/rotor/float/other during landing (landing roll)
- Loss of control in flight during landing defining event
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge › Experience/qualifications › Recent experience › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 877 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 0 in the last 90 days; 0 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: June 26, 2012
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,534 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 1, 2023; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-360 (piston); 2,534 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 53U Big Fork MT at 8:30 pm
- Destination: 88M Eureka MT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 01/1, 4,200 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observation at 2:00 pm from KGPI, 51 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KGPI 092055Z 00000KT 10SM SCT060 07/M03 A2997
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 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 N339X 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 WPR26LA055.