The pilot killed in the Sept. 19 plane crash at Ferndale Airport was attempting to land when he experienced engine trouble, federal officials say.  

Bradley John Young, 63, departed Kalispell City Airport in his experimental amateur built Murphy SR3500 plane around 11:30 a.m. for a local flight, according to a preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the wreck.  

The airplane reportedly bounced twice during a landing attempt on the Bigfork airfield’s grass runway. At about midway, the airplane was seen deploying its landing gear and witnesses heard the engine “throttling up,” according to the report.  

The plane was nearing the end of the runway when it was heard ascending, which was followed by a “sudden, loud bang and popping sound” from the engine before it went quiet, according to the report.  

The airplane subsequently hit trees on the right side of the runway’s overrun area before catching fire, according to the report. The crash occurred about 12:05 p.m. 

The plane came to rest upright about 875 feet from the end of the runway. The first identified impact was a pine tree that had been topped about 50 feet above the ground.  

The wreckage was transported to a secure location for further examination, according to the report.  

YOUNG DIED from injuries sustained in the wreck, according to the Flathead County Coroner’s Office.  

The Creston resident had just taken over as president of the Experimental Aviation Association’s local chapter. Founded in 1953, the national nonprofit provides general aviation education, safety counseling and technical support for constructing homebuilt aircraft.  

Brent Battles, Young’s predecessor and friend, was at his house next to the runway when the crash occurred. Battles’ wife, an experienced flight instructor herself, was cleaning the house when she heard a strange-sounding engine, he said.  

Battles was toying with the screen interface in his new car when he saw two fire engines from the nearby volunteer fire department speed down the road, sirens blaring. The noise stopped about 20 seconds later, indicating they were at the end of the runway.  

He and his wife rushed to the site of the crash. Battles said he could see the yellow and white exterior of the wrecked plane through the trees.  

“It’s just heartbreaking,” he said. 

Battles met Young when he and his wife moved to Bigfork in 2018 and joined the Experimental Aviation Association’s local chapter.  

“He was always cheerful, always. He just loved life,” Battles said. “He was a real pleasure to be with.” 

He was well known and spent much of his time around his hangar at the Kalispell City Airport, Battles said.  

A handyman, Young helped install drywall in the local chapters' new home base at the city airport.  

“Generous and loyal, strong-willed and stubborn, Brad had an enormous heart and an infectious laugh,” read an obituary for Young published in the Daily Inter Lake.  

Young wore many hats throughout his life, including river guide, lifty, ski racer, ski patrol, ski racing coach, helicopter mechanic and miner, according to the obituary.  

Young was a son, brother, husband, stepfather and a grandfather, read the obituary.  

Young is the fourth reported victim of small plane crashes in the Flathead Valley this year. Ryan Airfield, a remote airstrip near West Glacier, was home to two deadly crashes over the summer.  

Another plane crashed during landing at the Kalispell City Airport in August, but everyone aboard walked away from the wreck.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].