A small aircraft attempting to land at Kalispell City Airport veered off the runway and crashed into a parked aircraft, causing a large fire to ignite, local authorities have confirmed.
The aircraft involved in the incident, which occurred on August 11, 2025, was a fixed-wing single-engine Socata TBM 700 turboprop, registered as N860CA. The aircraft, carrying four people onboard, went off runway 13 while landing at around 14:00 local time, sliding to the left before the threshold.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that at least one aircraft on the ground was struck, including an unoccupied Swearingen SX-300 parked on the apron.
According to FAA records, the Socata TBM 700 was manufactured in 2011 and is owned by Meter Sky, a company located in Pullman city, United States.
The pilot and three passengers managed to exit the aircraft after it stopped, with two of them sustaining minor injuries from the crash and receiving treatment at the scene.
The crash caused a significant fire, and both aircraft impacted were engulfed in flames. Video footage of the accident shared on X shortly after it happened shows plumes of black smoke rising from the crash site.
New video Ron Danielson shared with us of the plane crash at Kalispell City Airport. Latest update in our live broadcast at 5 PM. Full Story: https://t.co/ydTXF8BavJ pic.twitter.com/YB1Obkzdu2
— NBC Montana (@NBCMontana) August 11, 2025
Emergency teams, including the Kalispell Police Department, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, and local firefighters, quickly responded to the scene after the crash.
While the cause of the crash is still unclear, an initial investigation indicated that the pilot lost control of the aircraft before hitting the parked aircraft, according to the Kalispell Police Department.
The fire briefly spread to a grassy area of the airport. Kalispell City Airport, one of the oldest General Aviation airports in Montana, has been temporarily closed while emergency personnel managed the aftermath of the fire.
“We will be assisting local authorities and the airport in any way we can as they handle this unfortunate accident,” Montana’s Congressman Ryan Zinke announced in a statement on X.
The FAA said it has launched an investigation into the incident.