The small plane consumed by flames at the Kalispell City Airport on Monday afternoon experienced engine trouble prior to crashing into several parked aircraft, federal authorities say.   

While the wreck sent black smoke billowing up over South Kalispell, the pilot and three other people aboard the plane walked away from the crash, which occurred about 2:08 p.m., Aug. 11. Two of the people aboard suffered what city officials described as minor injuries and received treatment at the municipal airfield.   

Crews from several nearby fire departments had the ensuing blaze under control within an hour, officials said.  

In an update Monday evening, Kalispell Police Chief Jordan Venezio said an initial investigation indicated that the pilot lost control before crashing and colliding with several parked airplanes. Venezio said the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the cause of the crash.   

The plane, a fixed-wing single-engine Socata TBM 700 turboprop, suffered the engine trouble in the last moments of its final approach to the runway, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's preliminary accident and incident notice.  

The aircraft is registered to Pullman, Washington-based Meter Sky LLC, according to federal records.   

Publicly available data about the flight show the Socata TBM 700 flying over the city airport from the southwest before turning sharply above downtown Kalispell and approaching the runway. Robert Katz, a commercial pilot and flight instructor with more than four decades of experience, said that the crash seemed likely the result of pilot error based on his review of the available information. 

"For the record, based on the data provided by FlightAware and the make and model of the airplane involved, it is my opinion that what happened here was entirely preventable and unnecessary in the way the airplane was handled," he said.  

"In my opinion, the way the airplane was handled put a lot of lives in unnecessary risk both in the airplane and on the ground," he added.  

John Paul Noyes, general manager and director of operations for Red Eagle Aviation, which operates the municipal airport, said witnesses described the aircraft as approaching the runway at low speed and low altitude, which resulted in it stalling. Noyes believes the pilot tried to add power in an attempt to fly back around for a second attempt at landing, causing the plane to roll left and off the runway centerline.  

Noyes said the plane hit ground on a grassy area on the 13 runway approach between the main runway and northeast taxiway, and caught fire on impact. The burning aircraft skidded and collided with three other parked aircraft, he said. Both the Socata TBM 700 and a homebuilt aircraft were soon engulfed in flames. Three other planes suffered damages, Noyes said. 

The quick action of the people aboard the plane to evacuate likely prevented any deaths, he said.  

"If they had been in that plane a second longer they would have died," Noyes said.  

Noyes said Red Eagle personnel were running toward the burning plane with firefighting equipment almost immediately. He credited them with preventing any other aircraft from going up in flames. 

"There were four other aircraft that probably would have been consumed by flames if this Red Eagle team hadn't got out there and jumped in the middle of it and dealt with it," Noyes said.  

He thanked first responders, to include area fire departments, the Kalispell Police Department and Flathead County Sheriff's Office for their quick response. Noyes said emergency services arrived between six and eight minutes after a call was placed to 911.  

BECAUSE THE crash resulted in no deaths, the Federal Aviation Administration will perform the on-scene documentation, said National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson. The information gleaned in Kalispell will be turned over to the independent safety agency, he said.   

The wreckage will eventually head to a secure location and investigators will review air traffic control communications, flight track data, weather reports and witness reports. Knudson said the investigation could include examining maintenance records if there is an indication the plane experienced a pre-crash system failure.   

Unlike in the deadly crash near West Glacier earlier this summer, investigators are not expected to probe the pilot's activities in the days leading up to the wreck.   

"Investigations of fatal accidents tend to be significantly more involved because there's no pilot to recount what happened to help us establish the circumstances of the crash," Knudson said. "We typically don't do 72-hour background checks on non-fatal accidents."  

Those who witnessed the crash or have surveillance footage of the wreck are asked to contact the safety board at [email protected]. A preliminary report is expected in 30 days with a final report expected within one to two years. 

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected].

    The path the Socata TBM 700 turboprop took as it attempted to land at Kalispell City Airport on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. (Image via FlightAware)
  

    The final 10 entries in the flight track log of the Socata TBM 700 before it crashed into the Kalispell City Airport on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. (Information via FlightAware)