NTSB Posts Preliminary Report On Wyoming PC12 Crash

The National Transportation Safety Board Preliminary Report on the July 26 fatal Pilatus PC12-47E accident in Wyoming does not offer much in the way of new information. It supports previous reporting that the single-engine turboprop, with seven on board including the owner-pilot, crashed after an apparent loss of autopilot function followed by a loss of control.

The NTSB report records, more specifically, that about an hour into the flight from Nebraska City Airport to Billings Logan International Airport in Montana, the aircraft (N357HE), cruising at 26,000 feet, maneuvered right of course and climbed to about 27,550 feet. It then began a right 270-degree turn. In the first 180 degrees of the turn, it descended to approximately 25,250 feet, then climbed back up to 27,025 feet in the final 90 degrees of the turn.

That maneuver was followed by a slight left turn followed by a descending 180-degree right turn. The pilot reported to Salt Lake City Air Route Traffic Control Center that he had lost his autopilot and was trying to regain control of the aircraft. The last data point recorded showed N347HE on a southerly heading at 21,900 feet. There were no more communications with ATC before the crash about 12 miles northeast of Recluse, Wyoming.