Montana plane crash kills three: What we know

Three people have died following a plane crash in west central Montana, local officials said on Saturday.

The Context

The aircraft’s pilot, along with two other occupants, were pronounced dead at the scene, law enforcement reported.

What To Know

The Powell County Sheriff’s Office said it received reports of a possible downed aircraft at around 4:30 p.m. local time on Friday.

The plane was located at approximately 9 a.m. the following day by a volunteer aircraft with the Montana Department of Transportation Aeronautics division, the sheriff’s office said.

The scene was handed over to the United States Air Force, which also had helicopters operating nearby, said the sheriff’s office.

“The downed aircraft was located in a remote, wooded area in Youngs Creek in the Bob Marshall Wilderness—northeast of Seeley Lake,” law-enforcement said.

Members of the Powell County Coroner’s Office, Missoula County Search and Rescue, and the Seeley Lake Rural Fire Department, with support from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, reached the scene at approximately 4 p.m., according to law enforcement.

“The pilot and two other occupants were pronounced dead at the scene,” the sheriff’s office said.

Aircraft data captured by the Flightradar24 website, mapped by Newsweek below, showed the Piper PA-23 Aztec departing Billings airport in Montana, around 300 miles to the southeast, just over two hours before its signal was lost in the area of wilderness.

Newsweek contacted the Powell County Sheriff’s Office for confirmation via email form, outside of standard working hours on Sunday.

What People Are Saying

The Powell County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on social media, Saturday: “On Friday October 17th, 2025, at approximately 1630 hours, the Powell County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a possible downed aircraft. The last known position was in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Northern Powell County. Air resources were deployed from Malstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls and continued to search until around midnight.

“Around 9 a.m., a volunteer aircraft operating under the command of the Montana Department of Transportation Aeronautics division, working off a weak ELT [emergency locator transmitter] signal, located the aircraft.”

What Happens Next

The Powell County Sheriff’s Office said that the investigation had been turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, which would lead work to establish the cause of the crash.