It may be some time before we truly understand what went wrong when a light plane crashed at Ryan Field, about a mile southeast of West Glacier back on August 12th. That Friday afternoon crash ended the life of the pilot. The plane, categorized by the FAA as “experimental, was a kit-built Vans RV7A, a 2-seat single-engine aircraft.
The Manufacturer claims nearly 2,000 of these kit aircraft are now in service. The aircraft has a top speed of 217-mph and a range of over 700-miles. Van’s Aircraft notes the require distance for take-off is 300-feet with the landing distance of 350-feet. The grass runway at Ryan Field is 2,900-feet long.
Official records say the plane departed Kalispell City Airport around 1:30 that fateful afternoon. Witnesses say the pilot attempted the first landing, opting for a go-around. The pilot reported high oil-temperature, so he circled the area until the temp cooled. Then he tried again.
This time, the foiled landed ended with another go-around, but this time…the craft was 55-feet airborne when the right wing clipped a tree, causing it to plummet to the ground in a near-vertical attitude crash-landing upside down. The pilot was pronounced dead at the scene.
