WPR25FA252 · Vans RV-7A

On August 12, 2025, about 1457 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Vans RV-7A N30SG, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near West Glacier, Montana. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Multiple witnesses located at Ryan Field Airport (2MT1), West Glacier, Montana, reported that the airplane was attempting to land on runway 15. On the first attempt, the airplane bounced on the runway twice before the pilot initiated a go-around. During the go-around, the pilot radioed that the airplane's oil temperature was high, and he was going to fly around the area to cool the oil before attempting to land again. On the second attempt to land, the airplane bounced on the runway, and the pilot initiated another go-around. During the go-around, the right wing impacted a tree to the right of the runway. The airplane rolled inverted and impacted terrain in a nose down attitude. The witnesses reported that during the accident go around, the airplane appeared to be stable, and the engine was at high rpm and sounded normal. One of the witnesses recalled seeing the flaps extended during the climb out. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane came to rest in a near vertical attitude in a wooded area about 100 ft west of the runway centerline and about 1,720 ft from the approach end of runway 15. The first identified point of contact (FIPC) was a damaged tree about 245 ft north of the main wreckage and 75 ft west of the runway centerline. The airplane struck the tree about 55 ft above ground level. Downed sections of the damaged tree were located near the FIPC, one of which displayed impact scars with small fragments of composite fairing and the airplane’s transponder antenna. A review of the preliminary ADS-B data revealed that the flight departed from Kalispell City Airport (S27), Kalispell, Montana, about 1325 and flew toward 2MT1. Upon arrival near 2MT1, the airplane orbited the airfield multiple times. The flight track data ended about 1sm northwest of the airport. At that time, the airplane was on a northerly heading at an altitude of about 4,375 ft above mean sea level. The wreckage was recovered for further examination.

Verbatim NTSB factual narrative from the NTSB dataset